Paperboy : Confessions of a Future Engineer - Henry Petroski

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Paperboy

Confessions of a Future Engineer

By: Henry Petroski

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Paperback | 15 April 2003 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
384 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.5 x 13.0 x 2.0

Paperback

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Anyone wondering what sort of experience prepares one for a future as an engineer may be surprised to learn that it includes delivering newspapers. But as Henry Petroski recounts his youth in 1950s Queens, New York-a borough of handball games and inexplicably numbered streets-he winningly shows how his after-school job amounted to a prep course in practical engineering.
Petroksi's paper was "The Long Island Press, " whose headlines ran to COP SAVES OLD WOMAN FROM THUG and DiMAG SAYS BUMS CAN'T WIN SERIES. Folding it into a tube suitable for throwing was an exercise in post-Euclidean geometry. Maintaining a Schwinn revealed volumes about mechanics. Reading Paperboy," " we also learn about the hazing rituals of its namesakes, the aesthetics of kitchen appliances, and the delicate art of penny-pitching. With gratifying reflections on these and other lessons of a bygone era-lessons about diligence, labor, and community-mindedness-Paperboy is a piece of Americana to cherish and reread.

Industry Reviews

"Petroski writes . . . with the observant eye of an engineer and the imaginative heart of a novelist." -Los Angeles Times

"A fond but clear-eyed glance back at what it was like growing up middle-class and upwardly striving in 1950s New York." -The New York Times Book Review

"[Petroski] once again discovers mystery and magnificence in the mundane. . . . By the end, we're convinced that no metaphor for life is more apt than a paper route." -Kirkus Reviews

"[A] pleasant trip though an America that has faded into history, with a tour guide who shares with us both the eyes of a young boy and the wisdom of a grown man." -Civil Engineering

"Petroski . . . can see the poetry in a bicycle." -The New York Sun

"Petroski not only can put science in laymen's terms, but also can do so without killing its magic." -The Christian Science Monitor

"Petroski . . . asks us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary." -Chicago Tribune

"Petroski . . . offers a charming account of adolescence in a much different era." -Booklist

"[Petroski is] the poet laureate of engineering." -Rocky Mount Telegram

"The book is a joy to read for anyone who enjoys a good story, not just working on a challenging project." -CE News

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