Inviting Disaster

Lessons From the Edge of Technology

By: James R. Chiles

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Paperback | 13 December 2013

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368 Pages

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20.4 x 13.8 x 2.5

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Combining captivating storytelling with eye-opening findings, Inviting Disaster delves inside some of history's worst catastrophes in order to show how increasingly "smart" systems leave us wide open to human tragedy.

Weaving a dramatic narrative that explains how breakdowns in these systems result in such disasters as the chain reaction crash of the Air France Concorde to the meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, Chiles vividly demonstrates how the battle between man and machine may be escalating beyond manageable limits -- and why we all have a stake in its outcome.

Included in this edition is a special introduction providing a behind-the-scenes look at the World Trade Center catastrophe. Combining firsthand accounts of employees' escapes with an in-depth look at the structural reasons behind the towers' collapse, Chiles addresses the question, Were the towers "two tall heroes" or structures with a fatal flaw

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"Full of scary news, but unsensational and thoroughly documented. Just don't read it in flight."--Kirkus Reviews

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Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction: On The Machine Frontier: New Technology And Old Habits	p. 1
Shock Wave: High Tech On The High Seas	p. 17
Blind Spot: Baffled And Bewildered Inside The Massive System	p. 37
Rush To Judgment: When Flagship Projects Run Out Of Time	p. 65
Doubtless: Testing Is Such A Bother	p. 95
The Really Bad Day: Panic And Triumph On The Machine Frontier	p. 117
Tunnel Vision: Go Away, I'm Busy	p. 139
Red Line Running: Humans Have A Limit, Too	p. 161
A Crack In The System: Failure Starts Slow, But It Grows	p. 181
The Healthy Fear: Alive And Alert At Danger's Edge	p. 205
That Human Touch: How Little Errors Make Big Accidents	p. 229
Robbing The Pillar: Slacking Off With The High-Power System	p. 259
Machine Man: Surviving And Thriving On The New Frontier	p. 275
Disasters, Calamities, And Near Misses Cited In The Book	p. 295
List Of Key Sources	p. 313
Index	p. 331
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Inviting Disaster

Lessons From the Edge of Technology

At a Glance

Paperback

Combining captivating storytelling with eye-opening findings, Inviting Disaster delves inside some of history's worst catastrophes in order to show how increasingly "smart" systems leave us wide open to human tragedy.

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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