Why the Wheel Is Round

"""Vogel writes with his typical, easy-as-pi style that epitomizes his intense curiosity for all things round. Gear up to read topics revolving around tools, toys, machines, and even animals. Ever the spokesman for experiments, Vogel goes full circle by ending with an appendix filled with DIY physical models. Whether you're a tinkerer in the garage, an inquisitive self-educator, or a budding biomechanist, this page-turner will round out your knowledge of circular motion."" --Anna Ahn, Harvey Mudd College ""A revolution about revolutions, Why the Wheel Is Round is Vogel's microhistory of humans doing what doesn't come naturally: creating and powering rotational tools and machines. To make muscle-powered rotary machinery -- querns, bow drills, whims, lathes, and horse ferries -- requires the invention of axels, cranks, and ropes. How this clever technology works, and why it works the way it does, is revealed clearly through the lens of biomechanics. Vogel is fascinated by spins, turns, and twists, and his enthusiasm for the artifacts around us is more than infectious. He incites an urge to invent and build, and, fortunately, includes instructions for doing so. Happiness runs in a circular motion."" --John Long, author of Darwin's Devices: What Evolving Robots Can Teach Us about the History of Life and the Future of Technology ""Reading this book, I found myself being pulled along by the curiosity of Vogel as he connects the power provided by the muscles of humans and animals with the immense variety of rotating objects invented over the course of human history. Despite the book's title, wheels are only one part of the story. Firmly grounded in Vogel's deep understanding of physical principles, the book is as informative as it is entertaining."" --Richard Marsh, Brown University"