Disasters by Design (How Engineering Failures Shaped the Modern World)
List Price:
$35.00
| Expected release date is Mar 2nd 2027 |
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Product Details
Author:
Grady Hillhouse
Format:
Hardcover
Pages:
384
Publisher:
Penguin Publishing Group (March 2, 2027)
Imprint:
Riverhead Books
Release Date:
March 2, 2027
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9798217046829
Weight:
19.91oz
Dimensions:
6" x 9" x 0.9688"
File:
RandomHouse-PRH_Book_Company_PRH_PRT_Onix_delta_active_D20260806T224902_157519850-20260806.xml
Folder:
RandomHouse
List Price:
$35.00
Country of Origin:
United States
Pub Discount:
65
Case Pack:
12
As low as:
$26.95
Publisher Identifier:
P-RH
Discount Code:
A
QuickShip:
Yes
Overview
How history’s most infamous disasters shaped the field of engineering, from the creator of the popular YouTube channel Practical Engineering
When a giant bridge collapses, a gas explosion blows up a building, or a major dam bursts, it’s hard not to wonder how things could have gone so catastrophically wrong. According to Grady Hillhouse, those failures are the defining force of engineering, where the most important lessons have been learned the hard way.
With the same engaging and accessible approach that makes his YouTube videos so popular, Hillhouse breaks down complex failures into their component parts, showing how poor judgment and willful ignorance can play just as big a role as an errant measurement or faulty component. The fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of history’s greatest structural breakdowns, from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Johnstown Flood and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, reveal how engineers learned from their mistakes and developed the core principles that keep buildings standing today.
Not all of us will design a building or lay out an electrical grid, but thinking like an engineer can help us spot weak links, respect margins, and value hard truths over wishful thinking. Disasters by Design highlights human resilience and our extraordinary capacity for progress.
When a giant bridge collapses, a gas explosion blows up a building, or a major dam bursts, it’s hard not to wonder how things could have gone so catastrophically wrong. According to Grady Hillhouse, those failures are the defining force of engineering, where the most important lessons have been learned the hard way.
With the same engaging and accessible approach that makes his YouTube videos so popular, Hillhouse breaks down complex failures into their component parts, showing how poor judgment and willful ignorance can play just as big a role as an errant measurement or faulty component. The fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of history’s greatest structural breakdowns, from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Johnstown Flood and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, reveal how engineers learned from their mistakes and developed the core principles that keep buildings standing today.
Not all of us will design a building or lay out an electrical grid, but thinking like an engineer can help us spot weak links, respect margins, and value hard truths over wishful thinking. Disasters by Design highlights human resilience and our extraordinary capacity for progress.









