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seabass34 t1_j79pjfy wrote

Book rec request: history with technical explanations of engineering challenges and solutions?

Just finished David McCullough’s “Path between the Seas: Construction of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914”.

Really enjoyed it. Appreciation for large scale construction projects has grown tremendously.

He touched on the technical aspects only briefly, at a high level. I’m interested in reading a similar history of an engineering related project but with more technical descriptions, diagrams, schematics, and calculations.

Any recommendation? Can be mechanical, civil, electrical, biomedical, anything.

McCullough mentioned that Schildhauer (I think), one of the engineers who is responsible for the design of the Panama Canal locks, along with a few other engineers, wrote a technical history on their efforts for the canal. It sounds exactly what I’m looking for, but I’d prefer learning about a new topic/project.

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phillipgoodrich t1_j7rxqrs wrote

You're going to love David McCullough's The Wright Brothers, which is an intensive look at how the Wright brothers solved the issue of powered flight by painstaking, careful, and exhaustive engineering research over several years. McCullough lays to rest any discussion of alternative pioneers who may have accomplished powered flight ahead of the Wright brothers. Never happened, as no one else did their homework like Orville and Wilbur. Enjoy.

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