Why Buildings Fall Down: How Structures Fail

by Mario Salvadori and Matthys Levy

Book Overview

The stories that make up Why Buildings Fall Down are in the end very human ones, tales of the interaction of people and nature, of architects, engineers, builders, materials, and natural forces all coming together in sometimes dramatic (and always instructive) ways.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039331152X
• ISBN13: 9780393311525
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT BOOK

THE BOOKS GIVES A LAYMAN A GENERAL IDEA ABOUT STRUCTURES, ELASTICITY, STRESS AND STRAIN WITHOUT TOO MUCH MATH. IT IS WELL WRITTEN AND THE CONCEPTS ARE CLEAR AND CONCISE. THE BOOK IS EASY TO READ AND VERY ENJOYABLE.

Thrilling book

I'm a young Civil Engineer from Portugal. Some months ago I went to New York and I found this fantastic book. I've also bought the book "Why buildings stand up" which is, again, amazing. The descriptions are in such a simple way that even lay people can understand easily the functioning of structures. It was a pleasure to read such interesting books.

structure problems

a good book explaining the details og building and bridge failures. im wondering why the author didnt include the word 'bridge' in the title since this book covers a lot of them. illustrations are very helpful as well

Enlightening, not-too-tech intro. to structural engineering

This was a great introduction to the fundamentals of building science - understanding why things don't work is a great help in understanding why they do. Each chapter discusses one example of something that went wrong and explains another reason why structures can fail.

A tecnical book easily understandable by non-engineers

We see all the time buildings working as they should (i.e., standing up and not collapsing), however, it is very interesting to read of some real life collapses. Salvadori does an excellant job of writing so that people without a technical background can understand why these structures failed. And he writes with such detail that engineers are not bored by lack of detail. Simpley explained, fully detailed, and thoroughly researched. Excellant book for anyone who is interested in buildings, structures, or failures