Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer [Hardcover]

Nevil Shute (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Paper Tiger, Inc.; 1St Edition edition (December 19, 1954)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889439185
• ISBN-13: 978-1889439181
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,651,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Observations of Shute Norway, May 12, 2001

By 

"ianalanmerrick" (Auburn Hills, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer (Hardcover)

I read all of Nevil Shute's books, except this autobiography, at a much earlier time. I've periodically searched for this book for the last twenty years, and now I'm so glad to have read it. It helps to explain why I enjoyed the man's novels so much.

I was aware that Mr. Shute worked in aeronautical engineering, but had no idea he played such an important role in the industry. I had pictured his early engineering work much like his character in "No Highway in the Sky", a task oriented almost 'nerd-like' man with no interest beyond the laboratory. In an age when people seem to do all possible to elevate their public persona it is refreshing to look at a man who possessed humility.

I realize now how Mr. Shute could develop such wonderful characters in his novels, people with a full range of foibles but also the quiet courage that perserveres through struggles. He had his own life and his own dignity to build upon.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating to anybody interested in dirigibles, October 2, 2005

By 

Mycroft (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slide Rule: The Autobiography of an Engineer (Hardcover)

The detailed account of the design and transatlantic flight of the dirigible R-100 is the most fascinating part of this book. The description of the pre-computer work of a large roomfull of engineers calculating and recalculating the stresses (iterative calculation) on the framework of the airship is amazing.