I have long had a fascination with the Link aviation trainer, so to find this book that says up a framework around Edwin Link's life and engineering feat of creating the trainer itself was such a joy! I loved the diagrams, the story, actually seeing it all come together.

What a powerfully and prosaically written book weaving "an engineering vision for civics and a civic vision for engineering."

A book that uses aviation as a framing device is pretty much a slam dunk for me to enjoy, and this was absolutely the case with Madhavan's expertly put together trek through time and space.

At times, I did find myself needing to refresh my memory of the definitions of hard, soft and messy problems to understand the discreet categories and how they come together to create wicked problems. I think the time spent on the definitions at the beginning of the book is one thing that could be clearer and possible expanded on just a bit more to give foundational context for the rest of the book.

I learned so much about the world, historically and present day, through reading this book, and it made me ask a lot of questions about the standards and practices that we subscribe to as a society. From learning about the nearly arbitrary 2.5 minute evacuation goal for fire safety to pharmaceutical companies and their worldwide influence to tsunamis, this book has a scope that feels wide but also focused and clear.

In another world, I'm a systems engineer, and this book absolutely cemented that for me. It was a great reminder about how many people work together to keep our world moving.

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and Netgalley for access to an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review! This is one of the first ARCs I've ever had where I've felt the strong desire to purchase a physical copy of the book for myself to return to in the future.