The Best Tool of the Millennium
The seeds of Rybczynski's elegant and illuminating new book were sown by The New York Times, whose editors asked him to write an essay identifying "the best tool of the millennium." The award-winning author of Home, A Clearing in the Distance, and Now I Sit Me Down, Rybczynski once built a house using only hand tools. His intimate knowledge of the toolbox -- both its contents and its history -- serves him beautifully on his quest. One Good Turn is a story starring Archimedes, who invented the water screw and introduced the helix, and Leonardo, who sketched a machine for carving wood screws. It is a story of mechanical discovery and genius that takes readers from ancient Greece to car design in the age of American industry. Rybczynski writes an ode to the screw, without which there would be no telescope, no microscope -- in short, no enlightenment science. One of our finest cultural and architectural historians, Rybczynski renders a graceful, original, and engaging portrait of the tool that changed the course of civilization.
- 176 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Chapter One: The Carpenterâs Toolbox
- Chapter Two: Turnscrews
- Chapter Three: Lock, Stock, and Barrel
- Chapter Four: The Biggest Little Invention
- Chapter Five: Delicate Adjustments
- Chapter Six: Mechanical Bent
- Chapter Seven: Father of the Screw
- Glossary of Tools
- Acknowledgments
- About Witold Rybczynski
- Notes
- Text Illustration Sources
- Index
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access One Good Turn by Witold Rybczynski in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Architecture General. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.