Abstract :
IT IS HARD to find two volumes more different than these gems from my ever-rowing collection of unusual reference books. The first is a brand-new compact hardback of \´An Engineer\´s Alphabet\´, compiled and written by Henry Petroski, America\´s most famous engineering writer and educator. It is a long-awaited quirky \´abecedarium\´ of littleknown facts, anecdotes, thoughts and other "gleanings from the softer side" of engineering.
