Books I'm Reading: Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering

On my recent trip to Japan, I took along Henry Petroski's Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (Vintage, 1997) to read while traveling. Being a series of independent essays, it seemed well suited to episodic reading. In the end, I had little time to read while overseas, but, back home again, I've finished it. 

This group of essays ranges widely, covering topics as diverse as the Panama Canal and the Ferris Wheel, Christian Schussele's painting "Men of Progress," the Channel Tunnel, and the Petronas Towers. 

Petroski, in my experience, is always entertaining. He writes succinctly, with enthusiasm for a subject that might at first seem less than exciting, and with a knack for making a rather technical subject more than just accessible, always bringing to life the personalities behind the projects.