An engineer who specializes in failure analysis, Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering at Duke University and has written 18 books, including his first, “To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design.” His writing has also explored the history of industrial design in everyday objects, such as pencils, paper clips and toothpicks. His most recent books are “To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure” and “The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship.” He is also a columnist for American Scientist and Prism.
About his work, The New York Times writes: “From (Henry Petroski’s) vantage point, failures in design and construction present perfect teaching opportunities. They are object lessons in the history and practice and beauty of engineering.”
And Publishers Weekly notes: “Henry Petroski delivers a lesson in the price of progress and another perceptive look at the relationship between man and his stuff.”
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