{"product_id":"one-good-turn-a-natural-history-of-the-screwdriver-and-the-screw-9780684867304","title":"One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe Best Tool of the Millennium\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The seeds of Rybczynski's elegant and illuminating new book were sown by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, \u003c\/i\u003e whose editors asked him to write an essay identifying \"the best tool of the millennium.\" The award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eHome\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Clearing in the Distance\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNow I Sit Me Down\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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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 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. 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRybczynski, Witold:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Witold Rybczynski has written about architecture and urbanism for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book \u003ci\u003eHome\u003c\/i\u003e and the award-winning \u003ci\u003eA Clearing in the Distance\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as \u003ci\u003eT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ehe Biography of a Building\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ehe Mysteries of the Mall\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNow I Sit Me Down\u003c\/i\u003e. The recipient of the National Building Museum's 2007 Vincent Scully Prize, he lives with his wife in Philadelphia, where he is emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50527169347858,"sku":"9780684867304","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d931171a-f180-4740-b501-c76ab98920e0.jpg?v=1731293268","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/one-good-turn-a-natural-history-of-the-screwdriver-and-the-screw-9780684867304","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}