Customer Reviews

When Technology Fails: Significant Technological Disasters, Accidents, and Failures of the Twentieth Century

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A truly riviting book about the many failures of modern time. I couldn't put it down! This book fills in the details of many of the major disasters and accidents that you have read about in the news but provides the reader with the reasons that the technology failed. It's technically accurate without being overly complex. It explains not only what happened in each of the failures, but provides information on why it happened. I found the section on environmental accidents to be thought provoking and insightful. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone working in a technical field.

A most excellent compilation. Thought provoking and sobering material. Should be requisite reading for any Engineer, Project Manager, Operations Director, etc. Would especially recommend it as required reading for Engineering Students. The work often chronicles how various failures were first attributed to the most apparent superficial causes (i.e., the easy fix), but then only after several more failures were the root causes finally investigated, often at great cost both financially and in terms of human cost. Makes you wonder the next time you rush a project, cut some corners, eat away some margin, take some risks, etc...

As a welding/metals inspector, I have both a professional and personal fascination with disasters. I own many books on various construction failures but this book remains one of my favorites. I have read this book cover to cover twice now and often find myself going back to it to reference various disasters.
While this book is not technical in nature (I don't believe you'll see any math formulas in the book), it is very comprehensive and straight forward in the explaining the background, details surrounding the failure, and the subsequent impact.
What separates this book from the many competitors is that it covers such a broad range of topics- from airships to medical catastrophes- and everything in between. And it doesn't just cover the famous (or infamous) disasters which have already been poured over ad nauseam. Though it does include the requisite Hindenburg, Kansas City Hyatt, and Titanic disasters, it also touches on the King Street Bridge and the Dalkon shield.

Though the text is a bit pricey, it is worth every penny and makes a wonderful addition to any library, whether an engineer or just someone with an interest in the mechanics of failure.

Very useful tools... packs with knowledge definitely a 5-stars materia