The Complete Modern Blacksmith

Written by Alexander Weygers

Format: eBook, 304 pages
On Sale: March 7, 2012
Price: $14.99

A truly unusual and unique resource, this extremely hands-on book brings together three popular but long-out-of-print classics (THE MODERN BLACKSMITH; THE RECYCLING, USE, AND REPAIR OF TOOLS; and THE MAKING OF TOOLS) essential for anyone interested in the making, repair, maintenance, or arcana of tools. An essential volume in any serious... Read more >

The Evolution of Useful Things
How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are.
Written by Henry Petroski

Format: eBook, 304 pages
On Sale: December 1, 2010
Price: $11.99

   How did the table fork acquire a fourth tine?  What advantage does the Phillips-head screw have over its single-grooved predecessor? Why does the paper clip look the way it does? What makes Scotch tape Scotch?

   In this delightful book Henry, Petroski takes a microscopic look at artifacts that most of us count...

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Concrete Planet
The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-Made Material
Written by Robert Courland

Format: eBook
On Sale: December 6, 2011
Price: $12.99

Concrete: We use it for our buildings, bridges, dams, and roads. We walk on it, drive on it, and many of us live and work within its walls. But very few of us know what it is. We take for granted this ubiquitous substance, which both literally and figuratively comprises much... Read more >

The Hunt for Zero Point
Inside the Classified World of Antigravity Technology
Written by Nick Cook

Format: eBook, 304 pages
On Sale: December 18, 2007
Price: $13.99

This riveting work of investigative reporting and history exposes classified government projects to build gravity-defying aircraft--which have an uncanny resemblance to flying saucers.

The atomic bomb was not the only project to occupy government scientists in the 1940s. Antigravity technology, originally spearheaded by scientists in Nazi Germany, was another high priority, one... Read more >

The Penguin and the Leviathan
How Cooperation Triumphs over Self-Interest
Written by Yochai Benkler

Format: eBook, 272 pages
On Sale: August 9, 2011
Price: $14.99

What do Wikipedia, Zip Car’s business model, Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and a small group of lobster fishermen have in common? They all show the power and promise of human cooperation in transforming our businesses, our government, and our society at large. Because today, when the costs of collaborating are lower... Read more >

The Two-Second Advantage
How We Succeed by Anticipating the Future--Just Enough
Written by Vivek Ranadive and Kevin Maney

Format: eBook, 256 pages
On Sale: September 6, 2011
Price: $14.99

What made Wayne Gretzky the greatest hockey player of all time wasn’t his speed on the ice or the uncanny accuracy of his shots, but rather his ability to predict where the puck was going to be an instant before it arrived. In other words, it was Gretzky’s brain that made... Read more >

The Pencil
A History of Design and Circumstance
Written by Henry Petroski

Format: eBook, 448 pages
On Sale: February 16, 2011
Price: $19.99

Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.


From the Trade Paperback edition. Read more >

The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices
How the Digital Magicians of the MIT Media Lab Are Creating the Innovative Technologies That Will Transform Our Lives
Written by Frank Moss

Format: eBook, 288 pages
On Sale: June 7, 2011
Price: $16.99

If you've ever read a book on an e-reader, unleashed your inner rock star playing Guitar Hero, built a robot with LEGO Mindstorms, or ridden in a vehicle with child-safe air bags, then you've experienced first hand just a few of the astounding innovations that have come out of the Media... Read more >

The Chip
How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution
Written by T.R. Reid

Format: eBook, 320 pages
On Sale: December 18, 2007
Price: $13.99

Barely fifty years ago a computer was a gargantuan, vastly expensive thing that only a handful of scientists had ever seen. The world’s brightest engineers were stymied in their quest to make these machines small and affordable until the solution finally came from two ingenious young Americans. Jack Kilby and Robert... Read more >

The God Machine
From Boomerangs to Black Hawks: The Story of the Helicopter
Written by James R. Chiles

Format: eBook, 368 pages
On Sale: November 26, 2008
Price: $11.99


From transforming the ways of war to offering godlike views of inaccessible spots, revolutionizing rescues worldwide, and providing some of our most-watched TV moments—including the cloud of newscopters that trailed O. J. Simpson’s Bronco—the helicopter is far more capable than early inventors expected. Now James Chiles profiles the many helicoptrians who... Read more >