The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans by Bill Hammack

This is a short, engaging read which taught me about how engineering and science differ, and the awesomeness of engineers. The stories of lone inventors of famous things are often wrong, or only a tiny part of the story. Using science, a rule of thumb, then human ingenuity, engineering moves beyond science to adapt or create something new, sometimes just tiny improvements or failed attempts that later become something practical and enduring.

Cathedrals are one example. How did the masons know how thick to make the walls of an arch? How did the beautiful white on blue Wedgwood ceramics get made. From the filaments of light bulbs to microwave ovens and color photos, little known engineers figured out how strong to build the Sears Tower, or how to design satellite propulsion systems.

Bill Hammack is a professor of engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign but is better known as an author and especially as Engineer Guy. His short, entertaining videos at engineerguy.com are part of his goal to share engineering with everyone. Readalike authors include Simon Winchester, Henry Petroski, Adam Grant, and Peter Diamandis.

I have been reading more non-fiction lately, and enjoying it, though I read non-fiction much more slowly than fiction.

I recently finished Life on the Mississippi by Rinker Buck and Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin, and am currently enjoying reading The Secret World of Weather by Tristan Gooley, Under Alien Skies by Philip Plait, and have just started An Immense World by Ed Yong.

Brenda