The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (Hardcover)

by Henry Petroski (Author) "Henry David Thoreau seemed to think of everything when he made a list of essential supplies for a twelve-day excursion into the Maine woods..." (more)
Key Phrases: imported pencils, pencil industry, pencil user, Eberhard Faber, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Like most other human artifacts, the common pencil, made and sold today by the millions, has a long and complex history. Henry Petroski, who combines a talent for fine writing with a deep knowledge of engineering and technological history, examines the story of the pencil, considering it not only as a thing in itself, but also as an exemplar of all things that are designed and manufactured.

Petroski ranges widely in time, discussing the writing technologies of antiquity. But his story really begins in the early modern period, when, in 1565, a Swiss naturalist first described the properties of the mineral that became known as graphite. Petroski traces the evolution of the pencil through the Industrial Revolution, when machine manufacture replaced earlier handwork. Along the way, he looks at some of pencil making's great innovators--including Henry David Thoreau, the famed writer, who worked in his father's pencil factory, inventing techniques for grinding graphite and experimenting with blends of lead, clay, and other ingredients to yield pencils of varying hardness and darkness. Petroski closes with a look at how pencils are made today--a still-imperfect technology that may yet evolve with new advances in materials and design. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly
In this age of the computer, Petroski's delightful, elegant history of the lowly pencil is a mind-sharpener, a revelation. The pencil's slow evolution from metallic-lead stylus paralleled the growth of engineering prior to the Industrial Revolution. In America, the saga of pencil-making encompassed gentlemanly cabinetmaker Ebenezer Wood and philosopher/amateur engineer Henry David Thoreau; the latter, while working in his father's pencil business, hit upon the idea of combining graphite and clay. In modern times, pencil-making was transformed from cottage industry to mechanized science, with a boost from international trade rivalries, the Faber manufacturing family of Germany and engineers' quests for perfection. Toulouse-Lautrec said, "I am a pencil." John Steinbeck was seemingly obsessed with his pencils' points, shapes and sizes. Petroski ( To Engineer Is Human ) illuminates the intersection of engineering, history, economics and culture. Illustrated.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 434 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (January 14, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394574222
• ISBN-13: 978-0394574226
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,234,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You couldn't ask for more information on this subject, February 21, 2000

By	J. G. Heiser (Sunninghill, Berks) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (Paperback)

Petroski is more than a little obsessive. He has the ability to collect an astounding amount of information on truly arcane topics. He is not necessarily the most riveting author, though. It comes as no surprise to see the number of engineers who rave over his books and the lack of attention from non-engineers.

Personally, I dabble on the knife's edge between the technical and non-technical, so perhaps that was why I was able to read this book through. I'm almost embarassed to admit to burning curiousity about many issues associated with the pencil. Why are they yellow, why are they cedar, who was Eberhard (and does the name refer to the longevity of the point?), and why don't old men sharpen them with pocket knives any longer?

This book answered all of those questions and more that I hadn't come close to anticipating. While there is certainly plenty of information to satisfy the curiousity of a pencil enthusiast, the book brings a deeper level of meaning. Performing such a a detailed examination of a common product provides insight into human character and economics. It provides understanding of why businesses flourish or fail, and how that affects the mundane details of our everyday lives.

Certainly, anyone with an interest in the subject matter would be entertained by this book--it is a veritable information orgy on the subject of pencils. However, I also recommend it to anyone with an interest in the history of technology--how it develops, why product categories are made the way they are, and how society appropriates these products and adapts itelf to them. "Everyday Things" was too boring to me to complete, but I read "Pencils" cover to cover. Perhaps there is more to be learned through detailed research into one specific and common technology than there is through the broad brush approach of "Things."

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked on Minutia, July 9, 2001

By	Sally Phillips (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (Paperback)

I loved this book. No surprise, because several years ago I became aware of the differences in the way pencils write. I picked up a great pencil as a giveaway from a community college. It felt like satin gliding along the paper. I kept it tucked safely inside my desk where my students could not get it. The first of the book is thought provoking as it discusses how the pencil has been ignored. This book and the EVOLUTION OF USEFUL THINGS, causes one to pause and consider the important, overlooked items of our daily lives. Maybe a reader is left with a good life lesson. THE BOOK ON THE BOOKSHELF is my next read. One thing for sure, you have to have a bit of an engineering streak in you to hang on every word. Get ready for strange looks when you answer the question, "What are you reading now?"

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an interesting book!, August 12, 2000

By	Kirk McElhearn "Computer book author and Fren... (A village in the French Alps) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (Paperback)

What a suprise! Who could think that such a simple object could have such an interesting history? Henry Petroski, as in his other books, weaves a tale that entertains and amazes in this history of the pencil, looking at both its historical progress and technical progress. Worth the read, no matter whether you are interested in engineering or not!