{"product_id":"0684867303","title":"One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw","description":"\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe seeds of Witold Rybczynski's elegant and illuminating new book were sown by The New York Times, whose editors asked him to write an essay identifying \"the best tool of the millennium.\" The award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eHome: A Short History of an Idea\u003c\/i\u003e and, most recently, \u003ci\u003eA Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century\u003c\/i\u003e, Rybczynski once built a house using only hand tools. His intimate knowledge of the toolbox—both its contents and its history—serves him beautifully on his quest. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eOne Good Turn\u003c\/i\u003e is a story starring Archimedes, who invented the water screw and introduced the helix, and Leonardo, who sketched a machine for carving wood screws. It is a story of mechanical discovery and genius that takes readers from Ancient Greece to Victorian Glasgow, from weapons design in the Italian Renaissance to car design in the age of American industry. Rybczynski writes an ode to the screw, without which there would be no telescope, no microscope—in short, no enlightenment science. The screwdriver, perhaps the last hand tool in a world gone cyber, represents nothing less than the triumph of precision. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e One of our finest cultural and architectural historians, Rybczynski renders a graceful, original, and engaging portrait of the tool that changed the course of civilization.\u003c\/p\u003e\nWashington Post - Jonathan Yardley\n\u003cp\u003e...a slender, informative and thoroughly charming book....In this as in virtually everything else he has written, Rybczynski himself reveals a gift that is itself no mean thing: for getting to the heart of the matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArts \u0026amp; Photography\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArchitecture\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eGeneral\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCrafts, Hobbies \u0026amp; Home\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHome Improvement \u0026amp; Design\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow-to \u0026amp; Home Improvements\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWoodworking\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eProjects\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eHand Tools\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003ePower Tools\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLiterature \u0026amp; Fiction\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Criticism\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eMovements \u0026amp; Periods\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScience \u0026amp; Math\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Philosophy\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eBook details\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rybczynski, Witold\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e paperback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Illustrated\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Scribner\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e English\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 176\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780684867304\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Scribner","offers":[{"title":"Used - Poor","offer_id":49279529812158,"sku":"0684867303-6","price":3.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0640\/9689\/5166\/files\/61fo8W1r3QL.jpg?v=1791944578","url":"https:\/\/shop.sustainablebooks.com\/products\/0684867303","provider":"Sustainable Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}