David P. Billington is Gordon Y. S. Wu Professor of Engineering at Princeton University. His books include The Innovators; Robert Maillart: Designer, Builder, Artist; and The Tower and the Bridge (Princeton). David P. Billington Jr. holds a Ph.D. in modern history from the University of Texas and is an independent scholar.
"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007"
"David P. Billington and David P. Billington, Jr., hope that their
new book will increase technological literacy among college
students. But this well-written and nicely illustrated volume may
also reach a broader audiences. Power, Speed, and Form will
introduce engineering students to eminent predecessors from whom
there is still much to learn, especially about the use of numerical
language. This book will also help students in other disciplines
appreciate engineering approaches to problem solving."---Thomas P.
Hughes, American Scientist
"The authors discuss eight transformative inventions . . . within
their sociocultural context. They also examine the lives of the
inventors as well as the cumulative process of invention. The
superb figures . . . and many photos nicely illustrate the
Billingtons' overriding themes: the importance of technological
literacy and the fact that original engineering is based on simple
ideas."
*Library Journal*
"The book is a sequel to The Innovators (1996), which covered
American engineering from 1776 to 1883; the two books together
explain the principal engineering ideas that helped transform the
U.S. from an agrarian society in the eighteenth century to the
industrial civilization it became in the twentieth
century."---George Cohen, Booklist
"[A] coherent and appealing approach, introducing engineering as a
historical sequence of ideas and events, part of a canon of great
ideas. . . . [A]n engaging narrative that explores the work of key
innovators. . . . For the Billingtons, design is the primary
function of engineering, one that distinguishes it from
science."---Robin Tatu, ASEE Prism
"The authors . . . discuss the development of each [innovation] in
a way that is readily accessible to building engineers and
non-engineers--their ultimate purpose. . . . The book, then, was
meant to serve as a text for introductory engineering courses,
especially those designed to help liberal arts students satisfy
technical literacy requirements. Such courses can also excite
engineering students by explaining how many innovations sprang from
ideas that though novel were relatively simple."---Ray Bert, Civil
Engineering
"By introducing the fundamental theories upon which various
significant technological achievements are based, Billington Sr. .
. . and Billington Jr. . . . shed light on the unseen foundations
of invention. . . . A remarkable accomplishment of this book is
that it presents these theories and equations in a manner that is
understandable to general readers, rather than accessible only to
engineers or scientists. Thus, it fills a much-needed role in
helping to enhance technological literacy and understanding among
the general public. . . . Highly recommended."
*Choice*
"Power, Speed, and Form is physically an extraordinary
volume...chock full of the most extraordinary photos.... Yet this
is not a picture book. It is a serious history of the development
of American technology in the period between the year 1876...and
1939.... [W]hat is unique, and what, along with the illustrations,
makes this book something of a treasure, is the inclusion of more
than forty sidebars, each a full-page explication in words,
numerical formulas, and splendidly clear diagrams, of the historic
innovations discussed in the text."---Samuel C. Florman, Technology
and Culture
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