It’s only natural that Henry Petroski should be reading It’s One Good Turn: A
Natural History of the Screwdriver by Witold Rybczynski (£9.99, ISBN
0743208498, Simon & Schuster). Petroski has an unusual academic background.
He is professor of both civil engineering and history at Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, and author of The Book on the Bookshelf, (£7.99,
ISBN 0375706399, Vintage), a study of the evolution of books and shelves.
When it comes to gifts, Petroski knows exactly what he has in mind for Jack
Kilby, the inventor of the microchip and winner of this year’s physics Nobel.
It’s…
