Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
74th out of 565 books
—
836 voters
The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance
Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.
Paperback, 434 pages
Published
2012
by Knopf
(first published November 10th 1992)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
715)
The pencil is such a simple piece of technology that it is often ignored. No one gives it a second thought to lose a pencil or throw one away. In fact, it’s the only piece of property that we lend to perfect strangers with little or no expectations of it being returned. The pencil is just everyday debris, a technology so common that we don’t even think of it as technology. And yet a tremendous amount of engineering, imagination, and hard work of thousands of people has gone into the simple, humb...more
Writers typically regard pencils the same way they regard ink cartridges or cups of coffee. They are consumables, means to an end. However, the history of this invisible, prosaic, throwaway item is the history of communication technology and fashion trends, international trade and the mercantile economy. The pencil made note taking a much easier task than it was in the days of styluses on wax tablets, chalk on slates and ink on scraped (and re-scraped) scraps of vellum. When written communicatio...more
Henry Petroski, that most excellent of engineering writers, uses the pencil as a metaphor for the study of the engineering process in his first-rate history The Pencil.- A History of Design and Circumstance.
The pencil represents innovation, ingenuity and inventiveness.
The problems facing a pencil engineer are similar in concept to those of an engineer building a bridge. The pencil lead must be created in such a manner so that it will be strong enough to remain sharp as long as possible and stro...more
The pencil represents innovation, ingenuity and inventiveness.
The problems facing a pencil engineer are similar in concept to those of an engineer building a bridge. The pencil lead must be created in such a manner so that it will be strong enough to remain sharp as long as possible and stro...more
When I first saw this book in the bookstore - yes, back in the day when there still were brick and mortar bookstores - I was both intrigued and surprised. As a writer I have always had a love affair with pencils, one of the instruments of my trade. But an entire book about pencils? Really? I was so intrigued by both the desire to know about the history of pencils and how one would fill an entire book about pencils that I bought the book. Much to my surprise, when I started reading I couldn't put...more
I really tried to like this book. The topic sounded very interesting, and as a writer who still does write by hand, I figured it would be interesting. However, Petroski simply does not know how to write or make an engaging narrative. Every time you think he is going to get to the history of the pencil, he goes off on some generic tangent--whether it be how wonderful engineering (as a field) is, or where I finally dropped off, some stuff about storytellers. That the prose is dense and dry certain...more
This is a book about the engineering and evolution of the pencil. And it is more interesting than it sounds. There are times when it does become a rather dry account, telling you that this company moved here, or this company bought that one. And there are a lot of things explained that you have to really care about to want to read here, like how they get the lead in the pencil and all the different shapes and the reason behind them and things like that. I found a lot of it interesting but many p...more
This book covers the history of the pencil -- how it was invented, manufactured, and developed over time. I read it because I was actually curious about what goes into making pencils, but the pencils are really just intended as a case study to illustrate what goes into researching, developing, and engineering anything, even a seemingly simple product.
As you might imagine of a book on engineering, the writing is wordy, and there's exhaustive detail that can be a bit too much at times. After the...more
As you might imagine of a book on engineering, the writing is wordy, and there's exhaustive detail that can be a bit too much at times. After the...more
There were interesting bits in it, but I felt like I had to sift them out like veins of pure graphite in sub-standard ore. He repeats himself a LOT. I wish he had told me about the pencil half as much as he repeated the phrase "The pencil is a paradigm for understanding engineering itself." (I swear that exact sentence appears no less than 80 times.)
I liked the description of old pencil technology. The victorian pencil factories made me wax steampunk, and part of me really wants to see if I can...more
I liked the description of old pencil technology. The victorian pencil factories made me wax steampunk, and part of me really wants to see if I can...more
Some good insight into the engineering process, and has a lot of research behind it. Some interesting things about an everyday object, and shows how many simple things we use might have deep, winding histories, but unless you're really, really into pencils it becomes a really long read.
One good non-fiction on artifact that I used as a kid in school and use the same in my day-to-day life. Initially when I am suggested with this book I was curious thanks to GR for this suggestion (I don't remember the reader who suggested this, sorry, but I thank you for the suggestion). I enjoyed this book though I took time to complete. This got history of pencil, pencil making and got the details of how pencil is made etc. Interesting book.
Way too much detail into the creation of the Pencil. A 150-200 page book would have been perfect - as it was there was an exhausting amount of detail that shed whatever interest I had in the subject.
From the beginnings of Ticonderoga #2 and the connection to Thoreau, we find a perfectly designed tool.
Aug 10, 2010
Ashley Middleton
is currently reading it
Currently reading.
Petroski rules.
This book isn't nearly as entertaining as it could be -- the author seems to spend a lot of time trying to justify why writing about the history of the pencil is A Serious Engineering Subject Just Like All Those Other Things, instead of getting on with the story.
When he *is* getting on with it, though, the information is interesting and well-written, so I'm going to keep on with it and see if the author gains some confidence as the chapters go by.
When he *is* getting on with it, though, the information is interesting and well-written, so I'm going to keep on with it and see if the author gains some confidence as the chapters go by.
Interesting book...but somewhat dry and esoteric at times.
I found this book to be terribly written. The concept is brilliant, but the execution was horribly flawed. Each chapter felt like direction-less rambling. The only shred of structure was the Chapter Titles.
I really wanted to prove that I could read non-fiction, and enjoy it. Disappointingly, this was not the right book to fulfill that goal.
I really wanted to prove that I could read non-fiction, and enjoy it. Disappointingly, this was not the right book to fulfill that goal.
Some of the material is fascinating; who knew that Thoreau was a somewhat serious engineer, who had an important influence on pencil design? But a fair bit seems to be something of an info-dump; I don't care that much about the exact corporate history of various pencil companies.
I find Petroski's writing style non-linear and distracting. I'm not sure why, but his work is never lucid to me and his books are hard to read. I much prefer Norman in this respect.
I do wish the author/publisher had stuck to the design of the pencil, instead of messing with the design of the book. The tall and narrow, it annoys me...
I have to admit that I've only be able to get through about 20 pages, but I refuse to conclude that this book is boring. Yay pencils!
A remarkably interesting story of discovery, advancement, war and utility.
Fun, fun!
May 17, 2013
Heather
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2013
Amirah
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Maggie
marked it as to-read
May 12, 2013
Amy Wong
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Henry Petroski is a civil engineering professor at Duke University where he specializes in failure analysis.
Petroski was born in Brooklyn, New York, and in 1963, he received his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College. He graduated with his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968. Before beginning his work at Duke in 1980, he worked a...more
More about Henry Petroski...
Petroski was born in Brooklyn, New York, and in 1963, he received his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College. He graduated with his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968. Before beginning his work at Duke in 1980, he worked a...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Ink is the cosmetic that ideas will wear when they go out in public. Graphite is their dirty truth.”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…
Apr 05, 2013 03:12am