Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies Revised Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars 119 ratings
ISBN-13: 978-0691004129
ISBN-10: 0691004129
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Hang a curtain too close to a fireplace and you run the risk of setting your house ablaze. Drive a car on a pitch-black night without headlights, and you dramatically increase the odds of smacking into a tree.

These are matters of common sense, applied to simple questions of cause and effect. But what happens, asks systems-behavior expert Charles Perrow, when common sense runs up against the complex systems, electrical and mechanical, with which we have surrounded ourselves? Plenty of mayhem can ensue, he replies. The Chernobyl nuclear accident, to name one recent disaster, was partially brought about by the failure of a safety system that was being brought on line, a failure that touched off an unforeseeable and irreversible chain of disruptions; the less severe but still frightening accident at Three Mile Island, similarly, came about as the result of small errors that, taken by themselves, were insignificant, but that snowballed to near-catastrophic result.

Only through such failures, Perrow suggests, can designers improve the safety of complex systems. But, he adds, those improvements may introduce new opportunities for disaster. Looking at an array of real and potential technological mishaps--including the Bhopal chemical-plant accident of 1984, the Challenger explosion of 1986, and the possible disruptions of Y2K and genetic engineering--Perrow concludes that as our technologies become more complex, the odds of tragic results increase. His treatise makes for sobering and provocative reading. --Gregory McNamee

Review

"[Normal Accidents is] a penetrating study of catastrophes and near catastrophes in several high-risk industries. Mr. Perrow ... writes lucidly and makes it clear that `normal' accidents are the inevitable consequences of the way we launch industrial ventures.... An outstanding analysis of organizational complexity."---John Pfeiffer, The New York Times

"[Perrow's] research undermines promises that `better management' and `more operator training' can eliminate catastrophic accidents. In doing so, he challenges us to ponder what could happen to justice, community, liberty, and hope in a society where such events are normal."---Deborah A. Stone, Technology Review

"Normal Accidents is a testament to the value of rigorous thinking when applied to a critical problem."---Nick Pidgeon, Nature

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Revised edition (September 27, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691004129
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691004129
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.38 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.18 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 119 ratings

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Charles Perrow is professor emeritus of sociology at Yale University and visiting professor at Stanford University. His interests include the development of bureaucracy in the 19th century, protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, the prospects for democratic work organizations, and the origins of American capitalism.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
119 global ratings

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Top reviews from other countries

Seajay
5.0 out of 5 stars An accident theory classic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2021
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MRT
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and, before all, very useful insights!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2015
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PF VEREYCKEN
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2017
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Diggin' It
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, but keep your eyes on the prize
Reviewed in Canada on August 6, 2012
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Charles Reid
5.0 out of 5 stars Dated but worthwhile!
Reviewed in Canada on July 18, 2017
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