Engineering Disaster Books
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1benuathanasia
One of my college professors had me read a few engineering disaster books that she lent me. I'd like to find those books again.
Each of them had a different disaster per chapter, but both books seemed to focus on the importance of redundancy in engineering.
One of the books had a chapter on the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.
The other had a chapter on the Love Canal incidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Each of them had a different disaster per chapter, but both books seemed to focus on the importance of redundancy in engineering.
One of the books had a chapter on the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.
The other had a chapter on the Love Canal incidence.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
2LibraryPerilous
I started but didn't finish To Engineer is Human, but I do remember the Hyatt was discussed. I don't remember the book having one disaster per chapter, but I remember that Petroski's thesis centered around simplicity of design and the fact that not all fail-safes could be put in place in any single design. Therefore, nothing was 100% safe, but most things were 99.99% safe and we could learn how to streamline structural design and prevent future disasters by reviewing past failures.
Were the books textbooks or trade books?
Were the books textbooks or trade books?
3aulsmith
Why Buildings Fall Down has a chapter on the Hyatt and is pretty much a chapter per disaster.
4dukedom_enough
Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences is such a book, although I didn't read it, and don't know whether your specific instances are in there.
5beichst
When did your professor lend you the books? Was it recently?
The following is a listing of engineering failure analysis by Petroski. Perhaps this might spark a memory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Petroski
To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985), ISBN 978-0-679-73416-1
Beyond Engineering: Essays and Other Attempts to Figure without Equations (1986), ISBN 978-0-312-07785-3
The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), ISBN 978-0-679-73415-4
The Evolution of Useful Things (1992), ISBN 978-0-679-74039-1
Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering (1994), ISBN 978-0-521-46649-3
Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and The Spanning of America (1995), ISBN 978-0-679-76021-4
Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing (1996), ISBN 978-0-674-46368-4
Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (1997), ISBN 978-0-375-70024-8
The Book on the Bookshelf (1999), ISBN 978-0-375-70639-4
Paperboy: Confessions of a Future engineer (2002), ISBN 978-0-375-71898-4
Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (2003), ISBN 978-1-4000-3293-8
Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering (2004), ISBN 978-1-4000-3294-5
Success Through Failure: The Paradox of Design. (2006), ISBN 978-0-691-13642-4
The Toothpick: Technology and Culture. (2007), ISBN 978-0-307-27943-9
The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems. (2010), ISBN 978-0-307-27245-4
The Engineer's Alphabet: Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession. (2011), ISBN 978-1-107-01506-7
To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure. (2012), ISBN 978-0-674-06584-0
The following is a listing of engineering failure analysis by Petroski. Perhaps this might spark a memory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Petroski
To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985), ISBN 978-0-679-73416-1
Beyond Engineering: Essays and Other Attempts to Figure without Equations (1986), ISBN 978-0-312-07785-3
The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), ISBN 978-0-679-73415-4
The Evolution of Useful Things (1992), ISBN 978-0-679-74039-1
Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering (1994), ISBN 978-0-521-46649-3
Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and The Spanning of America (1995), ISBN 978-0-679-76021-4
Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing (1996), ISBN 978-0-674-46368-4
Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (1997), ISBN 978-0-375-70024-8
The Book on the Bookshelf (1999), ISBN 978-0-375-70639-4
Paperboy: Confessions of a Future engineer (2002), ISBN 978-0-375-71898-4
Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (2003), ISBN 978-1-4000-3293-8
Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering (2004), ISBN 978-1-4000-3294-5
Success Through Failure: The Paradox of Design. (2006), ISBN 978-0-691-13642-4
The Toothpick: Technology and Culture. (2007), ISBN 978-0-307-27943-9
The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems. (2010), ISBN 978-0-307-27245-4
The Engineer's Alphabet: Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession. (2011), ISBN 978-1-107-01506-7
To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure. (2012), ISBN 978-0-674-06584-0
6ABVR
Hi, benuathanasia!
To Engineer is Human and Why Buildings Fall Down are both really good possibilities -- the first that came to my mind -- and both, as I remember, cover the KC Hyatt case.
Some other good possibilities for what was in that stack:
Inviting Disaster by James R. Chiles
American Disasters by Steven Biel
Breakdown by Neil Schlager
Design Paradigms by Henry Petroski
Set Phasers on Stun by S. M. Casey
Why Things Break by Mark Eberhart
Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow
Failed Technology by Fran Locher Freiman
Unnatural Disasters by Angus M. Gunn (for Love Canal)
Fatal Defect by Ivars Peterson (for failures of electronic technologies)
Why Things Bite Back is a fascinating book, but it deals with the unintended effects of technologies that work, rather than technologies that disastrously fail, so it's probably not one of the ones you were looking for.
Good luck with your search . . . I hope this helps!
ABVR
PS to anyone interested in the subject:
I teach a university course titled "Technological Disasters," and my catalog has 130-odd books with that tag . . . surveys, case studies, fiction, and so forth. Feel free to browse! :-)
To Engineer is Human and Why Buildings Fall Down are both really good possibilities -- the first that came to my mind -- and both, as I remember, cover the KC Hyatt case.
Some other good possibilities for what was in that stack:
Inviting Disaster by James R. Chiles
American Disasters by Steven Biel
Breakdown by Neil Schlager
Design Paradigms by Henry Petroski
Set Phasers on Stun by S. M. Casey
Why Things Break by Mark Eberhart
Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow
Failed Technology by Fran Locher Freiman
Unnatural Disasters by Angus M. Gunn (for Love Canal)
Fatal Defect by Ivars Peterson (for failures of electronic technologies)
Why Things Bite Back is a fascinating book, but it deals with the unintended effects of technologies that work, rather than technologies that disastrously fail, so it's probably not one of the ones you were looking for.
Good luck with your search . . . I hope this helps!
ABVR
PS to anyone interested in the subject:
I teach a university course titled "Technological Disasters," and my catalog has 130-odd books with that tag . . . surveys, case studies, fiction, and so forth. Feel free to browse! :-)
7benuathanasia
@DianaNowling That particular book didn't look familiar at all. Thank you for helping, though. They were trade books, and honestly I think they were written for the general populace, because there wasn't a whole lot of trade-speak that wasn't thoroughly explained to the reader.
aulsmith Why Buildings Fall Down was definitely one of them. Thank you!
beichst None of those sound familiar. And it seems that several of them are arguing the opposite of what the books I read were arguing (the books I read argued that all engineering failures can be avoided through diligence, redundancy, and proper work ethics and morals). She lent them to me around 2006-2007ish.
aulsmith Why Buildings Fall Down was definitely one of them. Thank you!
beichst None of those sound familiar. And it seems that several of them are arguing the opposite of what the books I read were arguing (the books I read argued that all engineering failures can be avoided through diligence, redundancy, and proper work ethics and morals). She lent them to me around 2006-2007ish.
8dukedom_enough
ABVR,
Good point.
Good point.
9benuathanasia
ABVR I think you found the second book! Inviting Disaster seems really familiar (both the cover and the cases inside).
I think I got Love Canal confused with Three Mile Island, but after looking up the specifics of Three Mile Island, I'm pretty sure that's the one I was thinking of.
I think I got Love Canal confused with Three Mile Island, but after looking up the specifics of Three Mile Island, I'm pretty sure that's the one I was thinking of.
10LibraryPerilous
>6 ABVR:: More books to add to my never-ending TBR pile.
>9 benuathanasia:: Glad you found your books!
>9 benuathanasia:: Glad you found your books!
