"As simple as familiar objects may seem at first glance, their conception, development, manufacturing and marketing may pose great difficulties"
"As simple as familiar objects may seem at first glance, their conception, development, manufacturing and marketing may pose great difficulties"
Henry Petroski (February 6, 1942 - ) is an American engineer specializing in failure analysis. A professor both of civil engineering and history at Duke University, he is also a prolific author. Petroski has written over a dozen books - beginning with To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985) and including a number of titles detailing the industrial design history of common, everyday objects, such as pencils, paper clips, and silverware. He is a frequent lecturer and a columnist for the magazines American Scientist and Prism. His most recently published book is The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems.