Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way

"Yes, and that’s partly why this book grabbed the attention of the judges. The number of books about engineering on the longlist was very sparse. It’s also by a woman engineer, which is exciting. What she looks at is apparently quite mundane types of engineering developments over the centuries or even millennia. There is one chapter on the nail and another one on the wheel. You think, ‘How am I going to read a chapter about a nail?’ but the author discusses how many objects we use all the time couldn’t actually function without the discovery of the nail. She discusses seven of these engineering developments that we never think about, and makes you as a reader go, ‘Oh, my gosh! Society as we know it would not be the same without these discoveries.’ It was a captivating read. I also really enjoyed how the author brought in her own personal experiences, and how some of these discoveries impacted her life. For example, she has a chapter on the discovery of the lens, which in turn allowed for the development and advancement of IVF. I thought that was quite amazing. She showed how something so simple has such huge implications for individuals. She adds a lot of humor and bits of food for thought for the reader in each of the chapters. There are also cool little graphical images scattered throughout. This enables a nice visualization of the different objects being described. My take-home message is that this is a book that everybody should read if they’re interested in learning about the world around us. For me personally, I feel I have a greater appreciation for these so-called mundane objects that allow us to function in our daily lives."