A fun historical read following in the footsteps of "A History of the World in Six Glasses," Agrawal manages to breakdown even the most mundane of inventions to prove just how impactful they've been on society. This would be a wonderful addition to any school or academic library or personal collection of an intellectual tinkerer.

This book was a perfect read for someone like me; I love to know how things work and I love "fun facts." Each chapter explores in depth the history of some of humanity's most important inventions, how they have evolved over time, and some of the unsung heroes of these innovations. The author's voice is genuine and you can tell this is something they are passionate about. I do enjoy the incorporation of stories of marginalized inventors as well. Near the end of the book, the last couple of chapters seem to lose a bit of momentum are are more tedious than the others, though still very informative. Overall I feel I learned a lot about how to appreciate the intricacies of everyday things.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Engineer Roma Agrawal takes a modern look at the traditional "simple machines" and made the case for seven elements that she believes forms the modern world. Each chapter is focused on a different object, including the nail, wheel, spring, magnet, lens, string, and pump, and covers the history and evolution of the object as well as how it changed the trajectory of science and society. Overall, a fascinating look at the building blocks of the modern world and how small units can develop and alter over the course of history. The book is written in an engaging and accessible style, with anecdotes to help support each chapter.

Nuts and Bolts cover some of the fascinating technologies that help create the modern world we live in. I especially enjoyed the chapters on lenses and string/fibers.

The author took technical concepts and explained them in a way that a non-engineer like myself could understand and appreciate.

It is wild how many technologies have been around for thousands of years that have been slowly perfected over time. There are so many pieces of complex technology that rely on the concepts of parts that have been developed, redeveloped, and perfected over the course of human history.

Human ingenuity knows no bounds, and the author highlights many of the underrepresented figures in history.

Nuts and Bolts by Roma Agrawal is a book about seven of the most important inventions. There is one chapter dedicated to each one, which goes into important and famous ways it has been used and how it has evolved over the years.
I really liked this book. Each chapter was well laid out, and I enjoyed seeing the many different applications of these items. I also particularly liked how it went over each item's evolution, such as the nail evolving to the screw, which evolved to the rivet, which evolved to the bolt. The physics and other science that had to be explained for these items were also well written, complete with illustrations, to really be understandable. Lastly, a book like this has the potential to be really dry, but by adding personal notes and jokes it became fun and easy.
The drawbacks to this book were few, but some did exist. In particular, I wish more inventions were explained rather than just mentioned. Of course not every invention can be explained or the book would be massive, but it was sad to look forwards to an explanation and not get one, such as with a laundry machine.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to people who have an interest in how everyday objects work, and who are a relative beginner to this field of study.

I've been fascinated with simple (and complex) machines since I can remember, so this is a book that calls out to me. Being an engineer, this was more than appealing, but obviously one need not be one to enjoy it. Ms Agrawal has written a delightful book that is easily a single-sitting read (after which I sat for a couple of weeks before writing this.) She gives the history of her revised simple machines, expands on some particulars of their evolution to contemporary uses, and connects with personal experiences - example: learning to make nails with a blacksmith.

Ms. Agrawal updates the traditional six simple machines of inclined planes, levers, wheel and axles, pullies, wedges, and screws to seven: the nail, the wheel, the spring, the magnet, the lens, the string, and the pump. She says herself, "During the Renaissance, scientists and engineers defined six 'simple machines,' described as being the basis of all complex machines. These were the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge, and the screw. But today, those six feel outdated and insufficient. So, I got rid of a few and added some others to showcase seven elements that I believe form the basis of the modern world." And she says, "In the pages that follow, I will show you that engineering is the meeting of science, design, and history." Yep. I started out long ago majoring in physics, and along the way determined that I enjoy application more than theory.

You may learn a few things, and I think you'll enjoy the ride. I did.

Note: I received an advance uncorrected proof from the publisher through NetGalley and when it comes out, I'll be looking for it to add to my library so I can loan it out to friends and family.

I didn't take a lot of notes; just a going with the flow kind of read.

"One, Joe Fosset, toiled in the nailery from the time he was twelve, alongside other young boys who together made between 8,000 and 10,000 nails every day by hand— enough to fund the Jefferson family while the depleted soils of the plantation replenished themselves during fallow years."
{Per day??? Toiled might be an understatement. I've tried my hand at smithing - my father had a small forge, anvils, and a large battery of tools. I had thought I'd like to have that one day, but smithing takes a hard toll on the body.}

"Someone really did have to invent the wheel - or, at least, in the way in which it was used. And it does seem to have a leap: most inventions evolve over time. A naturally sharp piece of rock, for example, inspired us to sharpen other rocks into tools, and gradually we began to attach them to handles, long poles, or arrow shafts— but with the wheel and axle, there’s no such evolution in getting to its basic form. It either works or it doesn’t."

{I need to go find Invention of Miracles by Emily Booth.}


"The most rewarding— and disconcerting— day of my career as an engineer was standing for the first time on the solid steel deck of the Northumbria University bridge. Eighteen months earlier, when I started my first full- time job, I was handed designs for this beautiful structure. I marveled at the fact that what was then only a notion would one day become a fully formed, three- dimensional reality. When that day arrived, I traveled to Newcastle (hoping I’d done all the math right) to stand on the steel that I had previously seen only on paper."
{This made me happy. Too often, engineers don’t go look at their work. I was managing the rehab of a water pumping station and had to force the design team to actually bring their electrical engineer out to verify the control panels were installed to his specs. And on a data center project, one of my technicians pointed out to the design mechanical engineer - who did make plenty of site visits - that an access panel would be blocked if we expanded the system (by design intent) to add another CRAC unit. That engineer got to see first hand what the problem was and was able to design up a quick fix. (And, he was rightly embarrassed.)}

[On a specific type of pumps - an artificial heart] "Rohin said that tall people often end up struggling to get a donor because you can put a big heart into a small person, but not a small heart into a tall person: it wouldn’t be strong enough to get the blood to the longer extremities. (He added that this, and sitting comfortably in economy seats on a plane, are the only two wins for short people.)"
{Chuckle out loud. I think we have more wins than that.}