The Toothpick

Technology and Culture

Henry Petroski

$55

Paperback

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English

Random House Inc
04 November 2008

General & world history; History of engineering & technology

A celebration culture and technology, as seen through the history of the humble yet ubiquitous toothpick, from the best-selling author of The Pencil.

From ancient Rome, where emperor Nero made his entrance into a banquet hall with a silver toothpick in his mouth, to nineteenth-century Boston, where Charles Forster, the father of the American wooden toothpick industry, ensured toothpicks appeared in every restaurant, the toothpick has been an omnipresent, yet often overlooked part of our daily lives. Here, with an engineer's eye for detail and a poet's flair for language, Henry Petroski takes us on an incredible tour of this most interesting invention. Along the way, he peers inside today's surprisingly secretive toothpick-manufacturing industry, and explores a treasure trove of the toothpick's unintended uses and perils, from sandwiches to martinis and beyond.

By: Henry Petroski
Imprint: Random House Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 206mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 406g
ISBN: 9780307279439
ISBN 10: 030727943X
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 04 November 2008
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. The author of a dozen previous books, he lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews for The Toothpick: Technology and Culture

Offers rare insights into principles of engineering and design. --The Washington Post Book World Delightful . . . Mr. Petroski combines historical narrative with technical expertise to compelling affect. --New York Sun I'll never look at a toothpick in the same way. --Jeri Krentz, The Charlotte Observer Petroski writes . . . with the observant eye of an engineer and the imaginative heart of a novelist. --Los Angeles Times