From the Publisher
[Petroski] reveals how integral the work of engineers is to our society. The stories assembled are entertaining and often illuminating.”—William Gurstelle, Wall Street Journal “Petroski is a vivid writer who enlivens potentially tedious descriptions of the forces at play in routine activities with sensory detail. . . . I admire Force for its attempt to immerse readers in the forces shaping our lives.”—Matthew Diasio, Science “[This] diverse and entertaining analysis of force since ancient times ranges from getting dressed, writing with a pencil and shopping to the design of face masks, buildings and spacecraft.”—Andrew Robinson, Nature “Petroski [is] a rare engineer whose writing delights general readers. . . . Another gem from a master of technology writing.”—Kirkus Reviews “Henry Petroski’s poetic prose pairs psychology with physics, producing a joyful joining of fact, fun, and physics. His exploration of the many meanings of force informs while it delights.”—Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things “Force! From John Keats to Isaac Newton, from pizza boxes to the Forth Bridge, this is a veritable cornucopia that will intrigue and inform the curious reader about a concept often taken for granted.”—Paul Jowitt, professor of civil engineering systems, Heriot–Watt University “Henry Petroski clearly and accessibly explains the most important idea in classical physics and engineering: the concept of force. His vivid prose illustrates the many ways in which forces enter and influence our everyday lives.”—Howard A. Stone, Princeton University “Henry Petroski is a true polymath with a superbly holistic perspective. Force is a unified field theory of almost everything, exploring the interdependencies among everyday forces and their effects. Albert Einstein would have loved it.”—Peter G. Neumann, chief scientist, SRI International Computer Science Laboratory “Force is yet another masterful and even more expansive demonstration of Henry Petroski’s uncommon capacity for demystifying science and engineering and engaging the public broadly. It is a tour de force!”—Ron Latanision, Shell Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peter Neumann
“Henry Petroski is a true polymath with a superbly holistic perspective. Force is a unified field theory of almost everything, exploring the interdependencies among everyday forces and their effects. Albert Einstein would have loved it.”—Peter G. Neumann, Chief Scientist, SRI International Computer Science Laboratory
Paul Jowitt
“Force! From John Keats to Isaac Newton, from pizza boxes to the Forth Bridge, this is a veritable cornucopia that will intrigue and inform the curious reader about a concept often taken for granted.”—Paul Jowitt, Professor of Civil Engineering Systems, Heriot–Watt University
Ronald Latanision
“Force is yet another masterful and even more expansive demonstration of Henry Petroski’s uncommon capacity for demystifying science and engineering and engaging the public broadly. It is a tour de force!”—Ron Latanision, Shell Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (Emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Howard Stone
“Henry Petroski clearly and accessibly explains the most important idea in classical physics and engineering: the concept of force. His vivid prose illustrates the many ways in which forces enter and influence our everyday lives.”—Howard A. Stone, Princeton University
Don Norman
“Henry Petroski’s poetic prose pairs psychology with physics, producing a joyful joining of fact, fun, and physics. His exploration of the many meanings of force informs while it delights.”—Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things
Bill Baker
“Henry Petroski makes the connection between our experiences in the everyday world to concepts that engineers use to describe that world. He helps us to see the invisible world of forces.”—Bill Baker, Chief Structural Engineer of the Burj Khalifa
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-01
The veteran engineer and acclaimed science writer examines some basic element of physics.
Petroski, a rare engineer whose writing delights general readers, does not ignore the textbook definition of force as any action that can change the motion of an object, but he casts his net widely. He writes that force in our daily lives allows us to feel “the sensations of push and pull, weight and buoyancy, resistance and assistance, achievement and defeat….Without forces and their effects we would lose contact with the world.” Stretching that point, he adds that the intangible forces of “charisma, persuasion, and influence” can enable someone to create positive social or political movements or reverse them. Petroski concentrates on the science but also includes sizable doses of history and memoir. Surprisingly, we deal with only two forces in our daily lives. That gravity is universal seems reasonable, but readers may be startled to learn that this is literally true: Zero gravity does not exist anywhere. Space station astronauts seem weightless because the gravity pulling them down is counteracted by the centrifugal force of their orbital speed around the Earth. Magnetism is local and often seemingly supernatural. Petroski illustrates this concept through amusing accounts of his childhood toys and the history of the telephone, which, over 150 years, has evolved from a heavy box attached to a wall to a tiny, vastly more complex device that fits in a pocket. Having written The Pencil, The Toothpick, The Evolution of Useful Things, and The House With Sixteen Handmade Doors, Petroski has no trouble delivering an engineer’s view of dozens of tools, structures, containers, and modes of transportation. He’s also insightful in his discussions of everyday actions such as shopping and measuring. Petroski pays special attention to bridges and skyscrapers because lack of attention to forces acting on them can lead to alarming consequences.
Another gem from a master of technology writing.
