The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans
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- Create Date：2023-03-20 16:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bill Hammack
- ISBN：B0BXR2PGR5
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Summary
Discover the secret method used to build the world…
For millennia， humans have used one simple method to solve problems。 Whether it's planting crops， building skyscrapers， developing photographs， or designing the first microchip， all creators follow the same steps to engineer progress。 But this powerful method， the "engineering method"， is an all but hidden process that few of us have heard of―let alone understand―but that influences every aspect of our lives。
Bill Hammack， a Carl Sagan award-winning professor of engineering and viral "The Engineer Guy" on Youtube， has a lifelong passion for the things we make， and how we make them。 Now， for the first time， he reveals the invisible method behind every invention and takes us on a whirlwind tour of how humans built the world we know today。 From the grand stone arches of medieval cathedrals to the mundane modern soda can， Hammack explains the golden rule of thumb that underlies every new building technique， every technological advancement， and every creative solution that leads us one step closer to a better， more functional world。 Spanning centuries and cultures， Hammack offers a fascinating perspective on how humans engineer solutions in a world full of problems。
A book unlike any other， The Things We Make is a captivating examination of the method that keeps pushing humanity forward， a spotlight on the achievements of the past， and a celebration of the potential of our future that will change the way we see the world around us。
For millennia， humans have used one simple method to solve problems。 Whether it's planting crops， building skyscrapers， developing photographs， or designing the first microchip， all creators follow the same steps to engineer progress。 But this powerful method， the "engineering method"， is an all but hidden process that few of us have heard of―let alone understand―but that influences every aspect of our lives。
Bill Hammack， a Carl Sagan award-winning professor of engineering and viral "The Engineer Guy" on Youtube， has a lifelong passion for the things we make， and how we make them。 Now， for the first time， he reveals the invisible method behind every invention and takes us on a whirlwind tour of how humans built the world we know today。 From the grand stone arches of medieval cathedrals to the mundane modern soda can， Hammack explains the golden rule of thumb that underlies every new building technique， every technological advancement， and every creative solution that leads us one step closer to a better， more functional world。 Spanning centuries and cultures， Hammack offers a fascinating perspective on how humans engineer solutions in a world full of problems。
A book unlike any other， The Things We Make is a captivating examination of the method that keeps pushing humanity forward， a spotlight on the achievements of the past， and a celebration of the potential of our future that will change the way we see the world around us。
Reviews
Beary Into Books
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Rating 3。75I found this book to be really fascinating。 It’s a nonfiction that explains to the reader a lot of information but in an interesting way。 I never felt bored or confused。 I really enjoyed learning what I did。 Overall， I would highly recommend it。
Ed Lee
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5 stars。It’s stunningly captivating。 I can’t say it’s a book， its a love letter to the engineering process。 All written in a very approachable way。 It’s the philosophy behind the methods with fitting examples。 All throughout the book I could feel the author’s fascination with the subject。 And I couldn’t help but share the enthusiasm。 It’s as far from dry engineering books as I can imagine。 The author shows us the human aspect of engineering。 The book has a nice philosophical angle to it。 It’s an 5 stars。It’s stunningly captivating。 I can’t say it’s a book， its a love letter to the engineering process。 All written in a very approachable way。 It’s the philosophy behind the methods with fitting examples。 All throughout the book I could feel the author’s fascination with the subject。 And I couldn’t help but share the enthusiasm。 It’s as far from dry engineering books as I can imagine。 The author shows us the human aspect of engineering。 The book has a nice philosophical angle to it。 It’s an amazing read。 In fact it’s my favorite book of this year so far， and it’s going to be hard to beat that。 I recommend this book， and I hope a lot of people will read it。 Even if you don’t have much interest in engineering or its history， read it for entertainment， it’s well worth it。 I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Steve
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I had never really understood the difference between science and engineering， but this book did a great job of explaining exactly this。 Bill Hammack tells great stories and gives clear explanations to make points， and he does this with well-paced， compelling writing and some great illustrations。 At the beginning of the book， I felt that Hammack was being defensive about engineering but by the end of the book， I understood where he was coming from。 The tone of the book is conversational and I fel I had never really understood the difference between science and engineering， but this book did a great job of explaining exactly this。 Bill Hammack tells great stories and gives clear explanations to make points， and he does this with well-paced， compelling writing and some great illustrations。 At the beginning of the book， I felt that Hammack was being defensive about engineering but by the end of the book， I understood where he was coming from。 The tone of the book is conversational and I felt as if Hammack was talking to me over coffee。 With Hammack’s crisp writing style， I could have read a longer book。 Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the digital review copy。 。。。more
Bill P。
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Bill Hammack’s The Things We Make will grab any reader with an interest in history， personalities， science， engineering， and human innovation。 From the opening chapter Hammack describes how master builders of the Middle Ages were able to build cathedrals that we still marvel over today， without the benefit of an in-depth knowledge of physics， math， blueprints， and in most cases， perhaps not even the ability to read。 In fascinating detail he shows us， in both text and diagram， how with a simple p Bill Hammack’s The Things We Make will grab any reader with an interest in history， personalities， science， engineering， and human innovation。 From the opening chapter Hammack describes how master builders of the Middle Ages were able to build cathedrals that we still marvel over today， without the benefit of an in-depth knowledge of physics， math， blueprints， and in most cases， perhaps not even the ability to read。 In fascinating detail he shows us， in both text and diagram， how with a simple piece of rope divided into three equal lengths， a builder was able to accurately gauge how thick his walls would need to be in order to support the soaring arches that marked medieval cathedrals across Europe。Through each subsequent chapter， as Hammack describes yet another set of engineering breakthroughs that have shaped our modern world， he returns again and again to illustrate how “the engineering method” has been successfully used in concrete fashion to an accomplished end， “solving problems using rules of thumb that cause the best change in a poorly understood situation using available resources”。 And， rarely by any one engineer， rather by innovators working and building on concepts and ideas that were pioneered before。 Did Edison invent the lightbulb， or did he have the financial backing that put him ahead of all other competitors using similar principles but different resources？ As the cover text promises， “The Unknown history of invention from cathedrals to soda cans”， The Things We Make takes the reader on a ride thru history and innovation along the road to our modern world。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Sourcebooks for an advanced copy of this book on engineering， science， history and the power and strength of ideas。As a long time reader of science fiction I am quite familiar with the stories of people traveling into the past and impressing the locals with their knowledge of the future and technology。 After reading the first chapter of this remarkable book I realize that if I ever fell into a wormhole and found myself 700 years in the past I would b My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Sourcebooks for an advanced copy of this book on engineering， science， history and the power and strength of ideas。As a long time reader of science fiction I am quite familiar with the stories of people traveling into the past and impressing the locals with their knowledge of the future and technology。 After reading the first chapter of this remarkable book I realize that if I ever fell into a wormhole and found myself 700 years in the past I would be in trouble。 What was the everyday to them from building a cathedral or removing poison from crops， are skills that are not in my repertoire， and probably will never be， but I can now more appreciate these feats for what they are。 Bill Hammack， professor， author and podcaster in his book The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans introduces readers to various inventions， events that lead up to them， and their adaptions over time。 The book begins with a discussion on master masons and how these early engineers， mostly illiterate designed great cathedrals all over Europe， without any understanding of the math or principles they were using。 I never knew the importance of just a simple piece of string in the building process。 From here Hammack discourses on the idea of the rule of thumb， and how masons would just know based on trial and error what worked and what didn't。 This they would pass on to apprentices who would pass them on also， until the day that science and engineering started to come together， and suddenly the rule of thumb was now a field。 The book then travels the world and ideas， from brakes， to agriculture and soda cans。I found this book incredibly interesting。 As a long time player of role playing and Civilization games the first chapter was truly eye opening。 The idea that these builders were content with， well it worked for the guy who trained me， and his stuff is still standing， so it should work for me is just amazing。 From there the book offers an almost different view of how things work， as I never quite knew that there is such a difference in thought between science and engineering。 The writing is very good， and I had no problem following or understanding what was being presented。 I might have had to slow down and read some things twice， but that is on the reader and not the writer。 There are plenty of "oh wow" moments or "oh that is cool" and I learned quite a bit。 Recommended for people with an interest in science and engineering。 I would also say curious teens might enjoy this too。 Also I would suggest this for writers in both science fiction and fantasy as one can really get a sense of how one small thing can change a society。 There are plenty of ideas for alternative history stories， or designing a city for role playing or even computer game design。 A book that is not only informative but could really give a lot of writers fresh ideas for their own work。 。。。more
Scottsdale Public Library
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Entertaining in his approach and attainable in his explanation， this title is a great read for all curious minds！ I absolutely love how Hammack describes science in ways anyone can understand。 I also dig the illustrations。 Check out his Youtube channel， @engineerguyvideo。" - Sara W。Award-winning professor Bill Hammack describes what the engineering method is and what it isn’t， how engineering differs from science and how it is not "simply technology”。 The stories he tells are interesting example Entertaining in his approach and attainable in his explanation， this title is a great read for all curious minds！ I absolutely love how Hammack describes science in ways anyone can understand。 I also dig the illustrations。 Check out his Youtube channel， @engineerguyvideo。" - Sara W。Award-winning professor Bill Hammack describes what the engineering method is and what it isn’t， how engineering differs from science and how it is not "simply technology”。 The stories he tells are interesting examples of how people have solved problems at different times based on their knowledge， resources， and culture。 I especially like that he highlights a diverse set of people。 If you enjoy this book and/or if audios/videos are more your thing， check out Hammack’s website， engineerguy。com。 -Stacy M。 。。。more
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I cannot provide a personal opinion， but I can provide details about the book。 'The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans' is a book written by Alec Ross， a distinguished professor and author。 The book covers the history of inventions that have shaped and improved the world。 It takes readers on a journey from the Middle Ages to the modern digital era， showcasing how inventions have impacted our lives and shaped our world。 The book covers crucial inventions such as the printing press， railroads， electricity， and the internet。 Ross uses his expertise to bring to life the lesser-known inventors and their creations， providing readers with a fascinating insight into how ideas developed and evolved throughout history。 The book also examines the social and cultural changes that occurred due to these inventions， highlighting how they have influenced our lives today。 Overall， 'The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans' is a great read for anyone interested in history， innovation， and the impact of technology on society。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I cannot provide a personal opinion。 However， the book “The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans" by Alec Foege is a popular non-fiction book that explores the history of human inventions and how they shaped the world we live in today。 The author includes a wide range of inventions， from the cathedrals of medieval Europe to modern-day soda cans， and how they transformed society over time。 Readers praised the author's storytelling style and his ability to make the subject matter engaging and informative。 Overall， "The Things We Make" is a fascinating book for anyone interested in the history and evolution of human innovation。
tpg2
，
As an AI language model， I have no personal opinions or preferences。 However， "The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans" is a non-fiction book that explores the history and evolution of inventions over time。 The book covers various inventions， such as clocks， steam engines， telephones， and even soda cans。 The author， Alec Ross， delves into the social， cultural， and economic factors that influenced the creation of these inventions， providing readers with a better understanding of how human ingenuity has shaped the world we live in today。 Overall， "The Things We Make" is an informative and engaging read for those interested in the history and evolution of inventions。
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the things we make the unknown history of invention from cathedrals to soda cans