Pushing the Limits

A fascinating potpourri of history, engineering, and imagination, all presented in the fluid, humane writing style that we have come to expect from this author. -- The Washington Post Book World <br> A pleasure. . . . It is a measure of Mr. Petroski's skill and sensibility that his essays about structures made of steel and stone so frequently provide a sense of that large humanity, as well. -- New York Sun <br> He writes clearly about complicated subjects, and provides lucid explanations and penetrating insights. -- The New York Review of Books <br> Henry Petroski turns an expert eye on the technology--and economics and vanity--behind [building]. The most compelling chapters concern disasters, from the collapse to the World Trade Center to the whip-snapping death of the Tacoma Narrows bridge. These essays are elegantly written and consistently thought-provoking. -- New Scientist <br> Henry Petroski has become the main emissary from the world of engineering to the rest of us. . . . He brings clarity and good sense to his subject, making the enigmatic world of things a little less mystifying. -- Austin American-Statesman <br> Petroski writes . . . with the observant eye of an engineer and the imaginative heart of a novelist. -- Los Angeles Times <br> An unlikely combination of mathematical brain power and a more irrational curiosity. . . . Petroski not only can put science in laymen's terms, but also can do so without killing its magic. -- The Christian Science Monitor <br> Petroski . . . asks us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. -- Chicago Tribune <br> [There is] pleasure [in] seeing Henry Petroski's playful mind at work. -- Scientific American