I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed in this book. While it was very interesting and I learned A LOT about the pencil and now can't look at one without wondering about its history (in a good way), I got bored reading this book. Petroski states that he is using the pencil to show how awesome and ubiquitous engineering is in our lives. At certain points, the book becomes more a polemic on engineering than it does a pencil. About every other chapter is more focused on bridge building and product research and design than on the pencil. Having come to Petroski via "The Book on the Bookshelf", which is much more light hearted, funny and easy to read, I was let down by his writing style here. I would still recommend the book, but be prepared for the dry bits, and there are quite a few of them. ( )

More than you ever would have imagined there could be to know about the seemingly simple pencil. ( )

Every once in a while everyone should take a look around the room and think about how the stuff in it came to be there, and about the people who invented them. If, like me, you are in an office, one of the objects your eye will encounter will be the lowly pencil. So who invented it? Why is it yellow and hexagonal in cross section? What is the lead made out of? Lots of questions--enough to fill a book!
And this is the book that provides answers to all the questions, and more. It is a superbly written, well organized, and beautifully produced with lots of illustrations. It is a book about the history of a technology and the people who made it. Petroski brings it all to life.

This is a fascinating tale of the quest for a perfect tool--one that does it well, cheaply, and reliably. This process has taken several centuries so far, and will probably continue for several more and it is a perfect vehicle for learning how technological change actually takes place through the agency of innovative men. It shows off the best side of man the engineer, questing ever to improve his lot, and that of his fellow man. ( )