The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans
by Bill Hammack
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2023
272 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
For millennia, humans have used one simple method to solve problems. Whether it's planting crops, building skyscrapers, developing photographs, or designing the first microchip, all creators follow the same steps to engineer progress. But this powerful method, the "engineering method," is an all but hidden process that few of us have heard of - let alone understand - but that influences every aspect of our lives.
Bill Hammack, a Carl Sagan award-winning professor of engineering and viral "The Engineer Guy" on YouTube, has a lifelong passion for the things we make, and how we make them. Now, for the first time, he reveals the invisible method behind every invention and takes us on a whirlwind tour of how humans built the world we know today. From the grand stone arches of medieval cathedrals to the mundane modern soda can, Hammack explains the golden rule of thumb that underlies every new building technique, every technological advancement, and every creative solution that leads us one step closer to a better, more functional world. Spanning centuries and cultures, Hammack offers a fascinating perspective on how humans engineer solutions in a world full of problems.
A book unlike any other, The Things We Make is a captivating examination of the method that keeps pushing humanity forward, a spotlight on the achievements of the past, and a celebration of the potential of our future that will change the way we see the world around us.
"Chemical engineer Hammack makes a fascinating case that engineering isn't the same as science in this sweeping history...Hammack brilliantly delineates the role of trial and error in human progress, and presents a knockout argument that a perfect understanding of the world is not a prerequisite to innovation. This clever and curious account delivers." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[I]nformative...Hammack explains his material in straightforward language, and in the concluding chapter, he makes a case for engineering to take place within a moral and ethical framework...Hammack writes with admirable clarity, authority, and wisdom." —Kirkus Reviews
"Bill Hammack's book is a fascinating journey about how engineers and inventors actually work and proves that everyone―engineers, scientists and even you and me―can create useful things by tinkering. A great book and enjoyable read." —Don Norman, engineer, designer, and bestselling author of The Design of Everyday Things and Design for a Better World
"This book unravels the mysteries behind humanity's greatest masterpieces. Bill Hammack is not just an expert on designing and building—he's a gifted communicator. his infectious enthusiasm leaps off the page as he reveals how you can learn to think like an engineer even if you don't love math." —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast Re:Thinking
"A delightful and illuminating tour of the clever solutions that engineers have devised through the centuries. This book brims with fascinating historical accounts of everything from an ancient grape juice-squeezing apparatus to a precisely-controlled 'candle clock,' while also giving us new appreciation for the humble everyday objects in our homes―bikes, microwaves, laundry detergent―that we take for granted." —Roberta Kwok, award-winning science journalist
This information about The Things We Make was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Bill Hammack is a professor of engineering at the University of Illinois and the host of the engineerguy YouTube channel. His work has received nine national awards from a diverse group of engineering, scientific, and journalistic societies. In 2019 he was the recipient of the prestigious Carl Sagan Award. He lives in Chicago with his family.
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