Customer Reviews

A History of Murphy's Law

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" -- may be the most well-known aphorism known to man. Yet its origins are mysterious. Until recently, no one had ever dared ask the obvious questions, "Who was Murphy and why is there a Law named after him?"

Author Nick T. Spark set out in 2002 on a Quixotic quest to learn the true origins of the famous phrase. His search, documented in his new book "A History of Murphy's Law" which is now available on Amazon.com, will surprise you.

Murphy really did exist -- Edward A. Murphy, Jr. (1918-1990) was a reliability engineer who worked on several important U.S. Air Force projects during his career. His Law came into being while he assisted Dr. John Paul Stapp at Edwards Air Force Base in the late 1940's.

But the story does not end there. While conducting his research, Spark learned that controversy has raged for over fifty years regarding the meaning of the Law, and the role that Murphy played in creating it. To a certain extent, where the story of the origins of Murphy's Law is concerned, the Law is a victim of itself -- full of error and Murphyesque complications.

Ed Murphy claimed in various accounts that he himself coined the phrase after one of his assistants made an error. But according to George Nichols, the project manager for Dr. John P. Stapp, the Law was created by him after he witnessed Ed Murphy make a serious mistake. The story of exactly who was at fault, and who coined the phrase behind "Murphy's Law", will probably forever remain obscure, since key players are deceased.

Whatever its origins, most everyone agrees that Dr. John Paul Stapp played a critical role in popularizing Murphy's Law. Featured on the cover of Time magazine in the 1950's, Stapp became known as the "Fastest Man on Earth" for his G-force experiments, which involved the use of rocket sleds. Millions of people owe their lives to Dr. Stapp, a famous researcher who helped develop restraint systems including automobile seatbelts.

According to Edward Murphy, he supplied Stapp with an instrument to help measure G-force on the rocket sled. After it failed during a test, Murphy blamed an underling for improperly wiring the device, stating that "If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will."

A short time later John Paul Stapp, known for his razor sharp wit, suggested that the phrase would be a good candidate for a 'Murphy's Law'.

Stapp later publicized the Law in a press conference. When asked how no one had been injured during the dangerous tests, he quipped that he and his support staff had a "healthy respect for Murphy's Law." The phrase went on to achieve cult status amongst reliability engineers. Eventually it struck a chord with the public-at-large and became ubiquitous.

Spark's book is the first to ever thoroughly probe the origins of this famous phrase, and features interviews with many prominent individuals involved in the story, including George Nichols and famed test pilot Gen. Chuck Yeager. The foreword is written by Marc Abrahams, editor of the famed magazine The Annals of Improbable Research, which presented Murphy with a posthumous "Ig Nobel" prize in 2003.

Author Nick T. Spark hit a home run with this one! The author's dogged detective work rewards the reader with a story that has more layers than my Italian grandmother's famous lasagna.
The story of Lt. Col. John Paul Stapp alone is worth the price of admission.This incredible man put his life on the line each time he strapped into the rocket sled to test the effects of enormous G forces on the human body. Eventually breaking the land speed record at 632 mph and loading his body with a staggering 46.2 G's. This fascinating story is enhanced with a healthy smattering of historical photo's...Great stuff!!
Using these legendary feats as a foundation, Mr.Spark unravels the mystery of the origins of Murphy's law. With the zeal of a test pilot groupie, Nick massages information from the living members and relatives of the rocket sled team who first coined the phrase "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong". Of course after 50 years... fact and myth often collide, but that makes the story even more intriguing. I give this one a full five stars, truly a riveting read.

Nick T. Spark's A HISTORY OF MURPHY'S LAW clearly explains the law that jillions of people cite every day, but don't know where it came from, or how, or who in the world Murphy was. Nick was in just the right places at the just the right times with just the right people to know with authority all there is to know about Murphy's Law. And Nick T. Spark is a well established writer who writes with clarity, and with an added PLUS that few writers write so well with: HUMOR. I am pleased that this book has been written and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone. Mel Boring (Orcas Island - Eastsound, WA)

Many prople collect unusual and strange things. For more than 30 years, it has been my joy to collect as many Laws, Conundrums, Principles, etc that have grown out of the basic "Murphy's Law" as I can find. It has been an enjoyable endeavor and a great deal of fun. But, my collection lacked two very important items: 1. the origin of the Law and 2. the realization of the existence of a real Murphy.
Having never given these two points much thought, my curiosity was piqued with the discovery of this delightful work by Nick T. Spark. It is filled with the result of Mr. Spark's dogged research and intrepid interviews. The illustrations in this book are numerous and even include an exciting photo flip movie.
Spark tells us that it all started with rocket sled tests in the Mojave Desert more than 50 years ago and continues through an intriguing story of friendships, disagreements and misunderstandings that are never really cleared up completely. The reader is compelled to think further and use his imagination. This can be an enjoyable mental exercise. The story features eclectic personalities like Dr. John Paul Stapp, David Hill, George Nichols and Edward A. Murphy himself.
Is the intent of "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" negative, as it may appear, or is it positive? You must determine the answer yourself.
For those who love mysteries and enjoy weaving facts and conjecture in an effort to find out "what really happened" this delightful book will provide a few hours of very satisfying reading. For this reader, it answered the seldom pondered question: Who do I thank for the safety provided by the three point seat belt in my car?

How many times have you blamed a bad outcome on "Murphy's Law"? If you are anything like me, a lot! But did you know there was a Murphy? I had thought the story of an actual "Murphy" was just another urban legend, but turns out he's real. Given the nature of the law, you would think its just a story about a guy who must have had a really bad day. Instead it's a fascinating look into a research project, and the people involved in the project, that took place in the late 1940's and was supposed to help save the lives of air force pilots by restraining them in case of a crash. The tests took place on the "Gee Whiz", a sled with rockets on the back to help achieve G-force. Yep, rockets! Men would strap themselves into the sled and go hurtling across the desert. You just can make stuff like that up. Those tests actually led to the saving of far more lives than just pilots, they actually helped develop the modern automobile seat belt. Beyond even Murphy or the "Gee Whiz", the book is also a great study of the author's, Nick Spark's, process of researching an urban legend. The result is an insightful and often times very funny look at the formation of one of our most popularly quoted "laws" today.

If you've ever wondered why it's called "Murphy's Law", this is the book for you. Would you believe that people argue about whether there was a bloke named Murphy, and if there was, who he was? The truth's complex and hilariously, almost dangerously funny -- I just about wet myself at this part where Chuck Yeager, the sound barrier man, speaks his peace about it. So why is there a law named after this pipper Murphy anyway, what does it have to do with Yeager and rocket sleds? The explanation is a laffer. This is a rollicking gumdrop treat and a backpocket classic to share with your blokes especially if yours are like mine, constantly --ing up!

You gotta love the way Nick T. Spark takes on one of history's great obscurities: the origin of Murphy's Law. After first admitting that we probably can't really be sure of anything, he turns sleuth and digs up enough evidence to convince us of what likely happened in the Mojave Desert back in the 1950s. And what's more, he does it with great humor and verve. The real hero of his story--the late, great Dr. John Paul Stapp--would have gotten a good kick out of of Spark's book. And, as anyone who ever knew Stapp can attest, that's high praise indeed. I wrote about Stapp in my 1995 study of high-altitude aeronautics, "The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space." I wish I'd had Spark's book to consult. I could have told a better story.

We all know Murphy's Law, "What can go wrong, will go wrong" and all the corollaries and off-shoots. Who would have thought the events that led to Murphy's Law would eventually end up saving millions of lives, perhaps your own.

The originator, Dr. John Paul Stapp, was not even a Murphy. But it's not that simple. Nick T. Spark tells a compelling investigative story, puncuated with insight and humor. He begins with mind and body numbing experiments with manned rocket sleds in the high deserts of California that lead to automobile seat belts. On the journey, he uncovers the birth of perhaps the most popular "law" that governs our lives. The author finds that Murphy touches everything, even the writing of this book. As he so astutely notes, Murphy's Law is an eloquent way of stating what we all live through ... "S--t happens!"

This book is of valuable help to those who always wondered about the origin of Murphy's Law, which became quite famous along with Parkinson's Law and Peter's Principle. When I read the press note, I was really interested and when an opportunity to review the book came, I was delighted. And I can confidently write that I was not disappointed after finishing the slim tome which is quite attractively printed and has a number of photographs to put the text in the right perspective.

That Dr.Paul Stapp, arguably the man who first expressed the law in a press conference, was also involved in making car travel in USA and many parts of the world, including India, where I live, was news to me. You, the reader of this review too may similarly find something new in the book. In any case, unless you too have been a researcher like the author about the origin of Murphy's Law, you will certainly be much more informed after you finish the book, which can be read while traveling in a bus, train or while waiting for your flight at the airport.

Nick certainly writes well, in a good, readable style and he has tried to be as fair as humanly possible to present all the sides of the story. Whether he has indeed become the leading expert on Murphy's Law is for you to judge after reading the book. In any case, in Nick's own words, the book was and is intended not just to be a reflection on the origins of Murphy's Law, but on the difficulty in making an assessment of any historical event that was not documented properly. From that perspective, the book has broad appeal I think to anyone who is a student of history or science.

I certainly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it strongly to you too.

Sine ira et studio - without anger or fondness - is often used to remind historians and reporters not to get carried away by emotion when writing. Nick Sparks book is a very good example of the credibility an author can earn himself by following this latin term coined by the roman historian Tacitus. I am convinced that I have used Murphy's law for years without really understanding its meaning and historical emergence. I now believe that is it correct to say that Murphy's law is essentially an optimistic statement - a way to gain awareness and focus our lives in order to prevent things from going wrong (p. 51) - and not a laconic desillutioned statement wich reflects that humans tend to remember the bad over the good. I am moved and enlightened, and I am going to read it again and use it for reference!