The Road Taken: The History and Future of America's Infrastructure
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.84 (730 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 163286360X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-11-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A labor of love by a lucid writer." Wall Street Journal"Petroski has a clear eye, a mellifluous prose style and a knack for spicing deep research with personal anecdotes." Washington Post"This is vital reading." Booklist"Public infrastructure is often deemed interesting only to policy wonks, but Petroski (The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance), a professor of history and civil engineering at Duke University, proves that he can make it accessible and fascinating for a wider readership.
Recounting the long history behind America’s highway system, Petroski reveals the genesis of our interstate numbering system (even roads go east-west, odd go north-south), the inspiration behind the center line that has divided roads for decades, and the creation of such taken-for-granted objects as guardrails, stop signs, and traffic lights--all crucial parts of our national and local infrastructure. Renowned historian and engineer Henry Petroski explores the past, present, and future of America's crumbling infrastructure.Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling. His history of the rebuilding of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in the conception, funding, design, and building of major infrastructure projects, while his forensic analysis of the street he lives on--its potholes, gutters, and curbs--will engage homeowners everywhere. A compelling work of history, The Road Taken is also an urgent clarion call aimed at American citizens, politicians, and anyone with a vested interest in our economic well-being. The road we take in the next decade toward rebuilding our aging infrastructure will in large part determine our future nati
Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. He lives in North Carolina. He is the author of eighteen previous books, including The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design, Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America, and The Essential Engineer.
Jon Hunt said From parkways to potholes. "The Road Taken", an engaging book about our nation's infrastructure, borrows its title (almost) from Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken", penned early in the last century. The book's chapters are phrases from that poem and author Henry Petroski fills them with a great deal of information about how our system of roads, bridges (and others) make America work.or don't make America work when they fail.There is probably a particular interest for everyone who reads it in any one given chapter, but I was pa. "A Must Read if we are serious about future" according to John. I have just started the book but it is absolutely enthralling.Petroski has an incredible knowledge of the subject matter and somehow makes utilitarian objects such as roads and bridges seem fascinating. (My background in civil engineering may help form this opinion.) I think anyone will benefit from reading this book. The one take away so far is that America had better take heed of his message and we need to get up to speed on this very critical subject.I ,for one, will not pass a bridge without thinking ab. Roads Should be so Long and Flat Compared to Petroski's other engineering discourses (e.g. "To Engineer is Human") this seemed a bit long and labored. Still some interesting details on roads and bridges, not so much on railroads and canals. The humor is there, but slightly overwhelmed by less interesting detail.There are suggestions this was a bit "written to order" by highway or transportation interests. Not sure of that, but it would explain much.Not a bad read, really, but not up to Petroski's standards IMHO.