Customer Reviews

One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although I had no interest in screwdrivers and screws when I started this book, the text provided a pleasant reading experience and I learned more than I thought I would. All in all, it was well worth the time spent. I think you will feel that way too, unless you have no interest at all in mechanical devices and the process of innovation. My favorite parts related to the innovations.

This book is composed of equal parts (1) why the author chose the screwdriver as the tool of the millennium for his article in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (2) where you have to go to find out about screwdrivers from the past (3) how he developed the information for this history of the screwdriver and screws and (4) the geniuses who developed the key advances in the technology of these useful devices. The style is a bit rambling, much like what would happen if you were chatting about the subject over a barbecue in the back yard with plenty of time on your hands. I can assure you this must be the most complete and authoritative book about screwdrivers and screws ever, especially since the author points out the virtual absence of any prior material turning up in his research.

Let me summarize the key areas. He picked the screwdriver as the tool of the millennium not because he thought of it, but because his wife told him that it was the one tool that she always kept around. After having gone through his own tool kit, he had not even thought of the screwdriver.

The first place where much shows up on the screwdriver in older texts is Diderot's Encyclopedia. In those days screwdrivers were called turnscrews.

To get a flavor of the screwdriver in the middle ages, when it seems to have appeared, you have to look into armor and early guns.

The screw goes back much further, showing up in useful form for Archimedes in Greek times as a way to raise water.

Screws later played many other important roles, especially in presses (including, of course, printing presses).

Lathes turned out (pun intended) to be an important related technology for making screws precise and consistent.

I learned about some interesting related technologies, including Greek mechanical devices with gears for calculating the orbits of heavenly bodies.

Then, we finally get down to gears and the development of improved lathes and the Robertson and Phillips screw heads. He prefers the Robertson (which I had never heard of before) which uses a socket top to screw in and remove screws.

At the end is a nice set of illustrations along with a glossary of tools.

This book is probably going to be a classic Father's Day gift for decades, along with a Robertson screwdriver, socket set, and screws.

Overcome your misconception that you know all you need to know about screwdrivers. You'll be pleasantly surprised by this gentle and unassuming book.

When you are done, pick something else you think you probably know enough about and search around to find a good book on that topic as well to expand your own knowledge further. Keep doing that, and some wonderful learning awaits you!

Donald Mitchell (donmitch@irresistibleforces.com)

Let's get the main question out of the way: Can an entire book devoted to the history of the screw and screwdriver possibly be worth reading? The answer is an unqualified yes. This small book takes an unusual, almost reverential, look at the the nature of tools and the mind of the inventor and innovator. Rybczynski recounts his research into the origins of this ubiquitous tool, so it is also a tale of the research process. He tells the story in a casual, personal style, making it an easy read. The book is not tightly focused on its subject, filled with many digressions and asides which are as interesting as the main narrative. One of my favorites concerns the invention of the the shirt button. It seems like the epitome of simplicity, and could have been made thousands of years ago, yet it took until the 1300's for some unknown genius to make the "leap of imagination" and conceive of the device, which seems simple but is not at all intuitive. The author asks the reader to imagine trying to explain the the "twist and flip" motion to some one who has never used one. Its nuggets like this, which make the reader look at common items from an entirely different perspective, that makes the book shine. It turns out that one of the first uses of the screw dates back to the Middle Ages, as a method of fastening the the brutally abused armor of jousting knights, and later to secure the matchlock mechanisms of the earliest firearms. However, in exploring the concept of the helix, the basis of the screw, the author reaches much further back in time, to the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, who understood the shape and put it to use in irrigation and wine presses. My only peeve is that although the book is loaded with temporal dates, I still found them lacking in certain places where they were sorely needed to put events in perspective. Aside from that minor short-coming, this is a book about much more than just the screw and screwdriver, full of pleasant suprises and delightfull "twists". A must read.

A New York Times editor asked Mr. Rybczynski to write an article about his choice for best tool of the millennium. One would think that this would involve deciding on a tool, researching its history and uses, and writing it up. But that would be too linear. Instead, the author takes us on a rambling walk through the toolbox. We learn not only about the development of many tools and machines (adze, augur, hammer, lathe, gears and presses), but about the scientists and inventors, even financiers, who contributed to the development of the screwdriver, and the applications (early firearms and clocks) that helped (literally) shape the device. We learn about the Phillips versus the Robertson screw, and the limitations of earlier lathes, which led to the first screws being handmade. Many interesting facts like this entertain and inform.

As a librarian I appreciated the author's friendly discussion of the references he found useful for his research. There are many black-and-white line drawings to help you visualize the items being discussed, as well as a notes section, a good index, and illustration credits.

Weaknesses: I would have liked to have read a brief discussion of the (seven?) Simple Machines, as I think many were discussed here, and it would have been an interesting reminder of things from physics class that I've forgotten. In addition, I looked up a quote by Plutarch in the Notes section, and the citation began "Quoted by E. J. Dijksterhuis .... " with no information about the actual source -- not much help!

This was a fun read. If you are the kind of person who enjoys browsing through the dictionary or a bookstore, you will probably enjoy this little gem of a volume by this handyman-storyteller.

Highly recommended.

The book is made up of about 10 pages of the history of the screw/screwdriver, 15 pages of the author's frustrating research (his frustration, not the reader's), and 120 pages of filler. Much of the filler is interesting but Rybczynski struggled hard, and wandered far, to find enough words to fill this very slim book (probably only 20,000 words). Since less than 10% is about the subject, the substance isn't quite enough for a solid magazine article. I wanted, and expected, more. I'm sure Rybczynski's editor did, too. Given the author's academic profession, I would think the book was the product of the "Publish or perish" syndrome were it not for his considerable resume of published books. I suspect that Professor Rybczynski, were he to read this review, might acknowledge that he was caught.

This book seems like a rambling diary of author's research for a piece he did for the NY Times Magazine Millennium Issue. The history and connections he presents are sometimes quite interesting, but it seems his notes needed a lot more editing and illustration.

For example, the division of material into chapters seems arbitrary and not particularly helpful. The narrative is choppy in many parts. One is not sure where he is going with his assorted findings of references to screws through the ages. He jumps around, back and forth, delving in the 1700's, then the middle ages, then the 1800's, then Roman times, then to the 1500's...it's quite confusing to follow the thread, if there is one. I don't think the author took the time to reflect on all he had found and tell a clear story of it. Rather he revels (understandably) in the fun and frustrations of researching the material.

His assertion that the inventor of the screw was clearly a mathematical genius is not very convincing. Yes, the helix is elegant. But as his evidence makes clear, the screw probably started out as an ancient, very simple and crude tool and evolved from there. Just because some mathematicians like Hero describe it mathematically doesn't mean he invented it. It may not even be accurate to say the screw was invented--after all the shape of the screw is found in nature. There is just a history of increasingly inventive and optimized uses of its shape.

The author did provide enough information for me to observe that that the evolution of using screws seems to have gone through three main phases:

In the first phase it was used as the primary part of a large tool, such as a method of moving water or lifting heavy objects. They were often crude and made out of basic natural materials.

The second phase saw screws being made smaller and being integrated, not as fastners, but as parts of more complex tools, such as lathes, as well as toys, weapons and watches, where the screw help proper other parts. These required more precise screws made of separately manufactured materials, such as metal alloys.

The third phase saw screws being used not to move things, but as as stationary fasteners. Here it would have been particularly interesting to read more about why manufactuers chose to use screws vs. rivets, nails or other fasteners depending on the different applications and materials to be fastened. But the autor does an interesting job exploring the evolution of screw head types, such as flat-head, Phillips and Square socket. Also, once screws began to be used as fastners the challenge of manufacturing them seemed to go from inventing ways to make them smaller, more precise and more durable, to manufacturing them faster to feed ever-increasing numbers of assembly lines, construction workers, handymen, craftsmen, hobbyists, and do-it-yourselfers.

One could also say that perhaps screws have entered yet another phase as being objects of art and history. The use of the term in English vocabularly has certainly evolved colorfully.

These phases overlap overtime and continue in tandem. In each of these phases, one could have logically sub-divided information about how they are used in each scenario (tool, part, fasteners, art, etc.), their specific design features, how they were made and out of what, how they were optimized for each use over time and famous examples of there use.

I would have liked to see better use of illustrations in the book. The few that were included could have been better placed. A timeline would have been very helpful. A richly illustrated introductory chapter exploring how screw-like features are found in nature (e.g., the helix, certain animal joints, etc.), would have been great. Also, how wonderful it would have been to show a chart (perhaps on the inside covers) of all the diversity of screw heads and screw types that we now have side-by side, let alone illustrations of all the different kinds of tools for screwing and and removing screws.

So there are bits of the book that I found interesting, and others that I found frustrating. At best, I think the book is a hodge-podge of sometimes interesting trivia about the history of the screw. Considering the author's point about how important the screw has been to enabling modern civilization, a more organized, analyzed and illustrated treatment would have been warranted. I can't imagine the author had a lot of time to spend on this project, but I wish he could have spent more.

All said, a mixed review is the best I can offer. Your level of curiosity will determine how desirable a read it is.

Not everybody appreciates essays, and that is fine. If you just want a very dry and clinical historical study of a ubiquitous pair of artifacts, then you'll be disappointed. This is a reader's book, written for literate people who enjoy reading for the sake of reading. From that point of view, it's an elegant little work. It is similar to "Catapult: Harry and I Build a Seige Weapon," which I also reviewed, in that the journey is as much a part of the story as the purported subject. Why did the author choose this subject, how did he research it, what were his stumbling blocks and triumphs, and what was he experiencing about the project. It is almost a meta-essay, in that it is an essay about writing an essay.

Rest assured that it does cover the history of screws and drivers fairly comprehensively--it even explains the origin of those squareheads that you can get from McFeeley's. I was positive that those were the same things that the trailer manufacturers were using back in the 70s (just to 'broach' the subject). Now I know for certain. I had no idea that the Canadians had been using them throughout the 20th century.

One of the interesting discoveries of the author is that very little scholarship has been performed in this area, so some of his findings probably represent original work.

I'm always interested in where things came from, and even more so in WHY they came. Rybczynski gives some reasonable explanations for possible first uses of screws--both as fasteners and as transportation devices. He also discusses the most relevant technology--thread cutting, including pictures of some early thread cutters and he highlights the development of standardized threads and automated thread cutting lathes. (Just before receiving this book as a Christmas present, I had seen a working model of DaVinci's screw-cutting machine at an exhibit in the Zürich Landesmuseum--this device is depicted in Rybczynski 's book and looks just like the model.)

It is a very short book, and it is an unusual approach to a technical history that is apparently a turn-off to some people. I enjoyed it. I think if you enjoyed the catapult book, Kurlansky's treatise on cod, or are a fan of John McPhee that you will find this book a worthwhile read. Witold Rybczynski uses a totally different style than the dry and thorough analysis of Petroski (see my review of "The Pencil : A History of Design and Circumstance").

A charming, well researched account of something we take for granted. Now you can get a whole handful of nuts and bolts at the hardware store--cheap. And they're interchangeable. If you lose a nut, another one will fit. No one stops to think of how this came about, how the first screws and nuts were handmade and each one was unique. The story is fascinating.
Rybczynski is an easy-going, genial writer. It's a pleasure to explore this bit of technology with him, and it gives the reader an interesting view of history.

This little volume takes about two hours or so to get through and is well worth the time if you've any interest in mechanical history. It starts with the story of how its author set about deciding what is the "best" tool developed during the millennium just ended. His object was to write an essay on the topic for the New York Times. On his wife's suggestion he settled on the screwdriver and then scoured museums and libraries for its provenance. The book, however, is not primarily about screwdrivers, but about this research and ultimately about the screw itself, which after all gave rise to the screwdriver, and about some of the machinery such helical devices enable. It is the author's feeling that the screw represented a leap of inspiration rather than a logical development based on previous devices. It may be that using screws to fasten objects together was a genius move, but in fact shafts with helical threads were earlier used in various machines where considerable pressure needed to be generated, such as oil and wine presses and their offspring.

This little book illustrates one way to turn a magazine article into a book: write about the writing as much as about the subject. And so the author tells us how he came to the idea of an article about screws and screwdrivers; he tells us about the libraries he went to to research it, the books he read, and their authors lives; he describes the museums he visited and the displays he saw there; and he describes the stream of consciousness that led him along the way. The result is a non-chronological treatment that can be a bit confusing; and although structured as a detective story, using hints from obscure books and museums to trace a path steadily farther back into history, the materials in the last chapter -- on the use of screw devices in the ancient world -- are actually the most commonly known and available. But the story is pleasantly told and along the way we do learn what there apparently is to know about the history of the screw and screwdriver.

I am a big fan of books on the history of science and technology. This book is a valuable addition to my collection.

In this book, the author makes a good argument for the screwdriver being the most important tool invented in the last thousand years. It seems like such a simple invention, yet he demonstrates vi good research the importance and discovery of the screwdriver. He makes a less-well researched claim to the history of the screw.

Many tools that we commonly use are much more ancient than the last millennium, like the hammer, axe, plane, and so forth are ancient tools, well developed in Roman times. Yet the screw and screwdriver, essential today, are fairly new, developed during the late middle ages or early renaissance periods.

One of the best parts of the book is chapter 5, where not only reveals the 'first' screwdriver, but information on Henry Maudslay, Jesse Ramsden. Joseph Whitworth, Joseph Clement, Richard Roberts, and James Nasmyth, most of whom I had never heard of before. Maudslay and this small group of mechanical geniuses were the people who 'invented precision' as another writer put it. In other words, this group devised the machine tools required for precision work. They are mentioned in this book because a lot of their work revolved precision screws, their use and manufacture.

That's one of the things that I like about this kind of history. One good book can lead to an area of discovery and knowledge that the reader might not know about. Since reading this book, I have become interested in the history of machine tools and their inventors.

A good book, well written. Recommended.

PS the title of my review contains a 'screw' pun!