The Road Taken

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Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling The American Society of Civil Engineers has, in its latest report, given American roads and bridges a grade of D and C , respectively, and has described roughly sixty five thousand bridges in the United States as structurally deficient This crisis and one need look no further than the I 35W bridge collapse in Minnesota to see that it is indeed a crisis shows little sign of abating short of a massive change in attitude amongst politicians and the American public.In The Road Taken, acclaimed historian Henry Petroski explores our core infrastructure from historical and contemporary perspectives and explains how essential their maintenance is to America s economic health Recounting the long history behind America s highway system, Petroski reveals the genesis of our interstate numbering system even roads go east west, odd go north south , the inspiration behind the center line that has divided roads for decades, and the creation of such taken for granted objects as guardrails, stop signs, and traffic lights all crucial parts of our national and local infrastructure His history of the rebuilding of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in the conception, funding, design, and building of major infrastructure projects, while his forensic analysis of the street he lives on its potholes, gutters, and curbs will engage homeowners everywhere.A compelling work of history, The Road Taken is also an urgent clarion call aimed at American citizens, politicians, and anyone with a vested interest in our economic well being The road we take in the next decade toward rebuilding our aging infrastructure will in large part determine our future national prosperity. Download The Road Taken author Henry Petroski – kino-fada.fr I don t have the verbosity today to write a review that properly explains my feelings The short version is, this book shouldn t say History in the title this isShort unrelated essays on my feelings about some brid...Started strong, got bogged down in multiple chapters on politics and financing, fizzled out somewhere around the tenth anecdote about the author s driveway.OK, so it s probably no surprise that a civil engineer like me loved this book But it s a great read for anyone interested in the history and nature of our public infrastructure and the ongoing needs that threaten it each day Petroski is a civil engineering and history professor at Duke University, and I ve read most of his other books which are also excellent He mixes a good amount of interesting history of specific projects with a modern perspective of our ongoing needs and research from OK, so it s probably no surprise that a civil engineer like me loved this book But it s a great r...This is basically a book written by your rambling grandpa who used to be a civil engineer It s got some really interesting facts about the history of infrastructure sprinkled throughout, but they re buried in a text that is otherwise disorganized, dry, and weirdly pedantic Petroski feels the need to devote many pages to defining basic terms everyone knows or describing objects familiar to everyone He has a whole paragraph defining a shunpike , as though you can t figure out that it just mean This is basically a book written by your rambling grandpa who used to be a civil engineer It s got some really interesting facts about the history of infrastructure sprinkled throughout, but they re buried in a text that is otherwise disorganized, dry, and weirdly pedantic Petroski feels the need to devote many pages to defining basic terms everyone knows or describing objects familiar to everyone He has a whole paragraph defining a shunpike , as though you can t figure out that it just means that people don t like to pay tolls, for god s sake The book is organized around the verses of Robert Frost s famous poem, but all this means is that a phrase from the poem titles each chapter, although th...A good book highlighting the importance and history of America s infrastructure.It is a quick read A basic overview of a handful of the pieces that sum infrastructure.It lacks characters to identify with, whether people or constructed items.This book would be better served as a heavily illustrated version with imagery of all things discusse...At the offset the author states that he will seek to be nonpartisan, but that all writing is bias Far enough, and I appreciated his candor, so it didn t bother me much when he, inevitably, leaned to one side.I was hoping the readabout the history and future of infrastructure and less Petroski s own personal feelings on the matter, but alas, this was not to be Still, it s his book he wrote it, so he gets to say what he wants And say it he does It seems only he and others like him are gi At the offset the author states that he will seek to be nonpartisan, but that all writing is bias Far enough, and I appreciated his candor, so it didn t bother me much whe...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here This book is just ok Each chapter focuses on a different part of the history of infrastructure in America Some of the stories were interesting and some were not The writer is an engineer who is trying to write for a broader audience He succeeds at being fairly easy to understand, but is not necessarily very exciting As a Civil Engineer who enjoys history I was able to push through, but I m not sure that many others will enjoy the book I did learn some information and it was somewhat useful This book is just ok Each chapter focuses on a different part of the history of infrastructure in America Some of the stories were interesting and some were not The writer is an engineer who is trying to write for a broader audience He succeeds at being fairly easy to understand, but is not necessarily very exciting As a Civil Engineer who enjoys history I was able to push through, but I m not sure that many others will enjoy the book I did learn some information and it was somewhat useful to get a summary of the conventional wisdom on America s infrastructure history As far as the actual thesis of the book, the writer spends a lot of time referencing the ASCE...I ve read a number of Henry Petroski s books in the past, and I ve enjoyed them all In this 2016 book, The Road Taken , he delves into the American infrastructure past, present, and future He correctly points out, We tend to be oblivious to much of our infrastructure, even when it is in plain sight, until something goes wrong with it However, I could not get into this one That s not to say that Petroski hasn t brought forward a number of important historical and policy ...Have to agree with reviewers James and Aerin this seemed focused on the east coast, New York in particular, and had lots of history of politics, not too much I found interesting Maybe I should have paidattention to the description or the prior reviewers I skimmed a lot of this, finding some of the vignettes about bridges or infrastructureinteresting than pages and chapters of government mismanagement, disagreement, partisan politics, and corruption.But I have to acknowledge that, Have to agree with reviewers James and Aerin this seemed focused on the east coast, New York in particular, and had lots of history of politics, not too much I found interesting Maybe I should have paidattention to the description or the prior reviewers I skimm...

The Road Taken
  • English
  • 13 August 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 322 pages
  • 163286360X
  • Henry Petroski
  • The Road Taken