Masterworks of Technology: The Story of Creative Engineering, Architecture, and Design

Masterworks of Technology: The Story of Creative Engineering, Architecture, and Design E. E. Lewis. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2004.

Building from Henry Petroski's explanation of how failure has improved the design of bridges and skyscrapers, E. E. Lewis journeys from his specific research in nuclear engineering and invites the layperson into the wonderfully rich history of engineering design in Masterworks of Technology: The Story of Creative Engineering, Architecture, and Design. Lewis organizes the book around the principles of engineering design, including theoretical perspectives, invention methods, tool development, usability testing, and implementation. To illustrate this progression both historically and culturally, Lewis carefully traces the design process of several dozen objects, everything from wagon wheels and microwaves to sailing ships and skyscrapers. Each of the eleven chapters focuses on one engineering principle. For example, to show the...