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Title: One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw by Witold Rybczynski ISBN: 0-684-86730-3 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 11 September, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.68 (19 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: I'm turning into a crotchety old man before your eyes ...
Comment: This is a fun little book, although the author has written better.
My review is on the price though. I buy everything that Witold Rybczynski writes although this one gave me pause. Twenty dollars for a 130 paperback--with small pages at that?
I am a fan of the handsomely published essays like Hitchen's Kissinger, Klein's Fences and Windows, and Amis' Koba. They need to have a market, but I'm not sure that this new pricing approach is good for long-term readership.
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting stuff, but a bit dry and disorganized.
Comment: Seems more like a rambling diary of the author's quest to research a piece he did for the NY Times Millenium Issue. The history and connections are quite interesting, but it seems his notes needed a lot more editing.
For example, the division of material into chapters seems very arbitrary and not particularly helpful. The narrative is choppy in many parts. One is not sure where he is going with his assorted findings of references to screws through the ages. He jumps around, back and forth, delving in the 1700's, then the middle ages, then the 1800's, then Roman times, then to the 1500's...it's quite confusing to follow the thread, if there is one. I don't think the author took the time to reflect on all he had found and tell a clear story of it. Rather he revels (understandbly) in the fun and frustrations of researching the material.
Also, his assertion that the inventor of the screw was clearly a mathematical genuis is not very convincing. Yes, the helix is elegant. But the screw itself is an ancient invention that was clearly an interative development. Just because some mathematicians like Hero describe in those terms doesn't mean he invented it.
Another aspect is that the illustrations are a bit stingy and could have been better placed throughout the book. It would have made the material easier to follow. And how about a timeline chart? That would surely have helped!
The bottom line is that there are parts of the book that I found interesting, and other I found frustrating. A mixed review is the best I can offer. Your level of curiosity will determine how desirable a read it is.
Rating: 4
Summary: Tool of the millenium?
Comment: A history of the screw and screwdriver has the potential for being really boring; fortunately, this brief book is not. Instead, it is an interesting look at this commonplace tool.
In general working backwards from modern to ancient times, Rybczynski not only explores the origins of the screw and screwdriver, he also describes what he had to go through to discover these origins. It shows how when something is such an everyday item, its very commonality may obscure its history.
The main flaw with this book is that he tends to ramble about quite a bit, so instead of moving straight back in time, he often darts in other chronological directions. This can be a bit distracting. Nonetheless, this is overall a good book which shows that in the hands of a decent writer, even minor objects can become important.
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Title: The Engines of Our Ingenuity: An Engineer Looks at Technology and Culture by John H. Lienhard IV ISBN: 0195135830 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture by Witold Rybczynski ISBN: 0140168893 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: December, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Home: A Short History of an Idea by Witold Rybczynski ISBN: 0140102310 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: July, 1987 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Look of Architecture by Witold Rybczynski ISBN: 0195156331 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Perfect House : A Journey with Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio by Witold Rybczynski ISBN: 0743205863 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 24 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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