Vibration Damping

touched upon in the book, perhaps because it has only recently become the subject of research. Another small problem with the book is that some of the themes of chapters verge on being repetitious. For example, the precepts that we can learn more from failures than successes, and that success is to foresee and obviate failure, both tend to recur throughout the text. Nevertheless, these are important themes and they provide a sound framework for discussing failures, so the repetitions are not minded. Overall, the book is well written in a comfortable style that holds the reader's attention. It is replete with examples, illustrations, pieces of history, quotations from poetry and literature, cartoons, and anecdotes from the author's experience-all of it relevant and entertaining. Although the book concentrates mainly on structural and mechanical failures, it applies to all engineering design; the work "structure" in this book could represent almost any engineering creation. In short, this is one of the best books on engineering to come out in a long while. It belongs on the bookshelf beside "The Existential Pleasures of Engineering," and kept within easy reach. Now, when the neighbor or a friend asks for an explanation of the most recent engineering disaster, you and I will be ready, thanks to Henry Petroski and his fine book.