Blowback book by christopher simpson
Everyone should read BLOWBACK And for a very practical yet critical each one of us comes within close proximity of some type of pressure equipment every day if not several times a day But most people rarely give thought to pressure devices Without these mechanisms however civilization as we know it today would not exist That s because pressure equipment is essential to the productivity comfort and well being of every man woman and child Pressure retaining devices are harmless when properly maintained and operated The problem is the general public s lacking of understanding of what can happen if these mechanical mainstays are ignored abused or without constant monitoring Blowback An Anecdotal Look at Pressure Equipment and Other Harmless Devices That Can Kill You Note I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. PDF blowback james Educational A ton of facts and history about pressure equipment devices and disasters involving them are presented in the form of narrative and timelines Some particularly devastating incidents even have their own chapters Gotta say I learned a lot Bonus points to the author for including an extensive index and selected bibliography This would be a great book to consult for school reports or research or as a gift for history buffs or people interested in things that explode Entertaining The topic and content were interesting and there were a few offbeat chapters like the one on human cannonballs or the one on postcards from hell Though the grim topic is treated seriously there are places where the author s tasteful humor shines through A very enjoyable read overall Cautionary Many of the disastrous incidents were the result of negligence or recklessness and reading about them definitely drives home the idea that pressure equipment devices are capable of powerful explosions and should be regarded with respect and prudence Inadequate or improper safety measures setup or maintenance or doing something foolhardy like throwing a beer keg in a fire can yield deadly and destructive consequences I ll never look at pressure equipment devices the same way again. Blowback rig Tragic A lot of horrific death and destruction is covered in this book much of it accompanied by chilling photos The photos are mainly of destroyed buildings pressure equipment trains etc Nothing graphic in the photos though if you get squeamish over details of how people died you might want to skip this book Beautiful The book itself looks fantastic It s hefty and a bit wider than a typical hardcover The cream colored glossy pages have white and maroon accents and they re filled with historical photos and images of paper artifacts old ads newspapers letters etc There s a lot packed into the book but it s not cluttered the layout is perfectly spaced Someone put a lot of time and effort into designing this thing 9780988954106 Despite Brennan s acknowledgement that society has moved beyond using gruesome photos of carnage in order to underscore the importance of safety devices proper maintenance and regulation I felt like I was rubber necking at an accident scene while reading most of his descriptions of boiler explosions mishaps I was interested in the incidents that directly resulted in regulations being set even a description of the obstacles that had to be overcome in order to get to the stringent safety requirements that are in place today for this kind of equipment but was disappointed The book is scattered albeit most of the information is interesting The vast majority of modern day incidents read like the Darwin awards which didn t really serve to heighten my awareness of the machineries dangers but remind me of how inane humans can be 9780988954106
About the translator Paul Brennan firmly believes that you cannot judge a book by its author and that when a book starts to speak the author should be as quiet as possible since the aim of art is after all to reveal art and conceal the artist Therefore he refuses to follow the increasing tendency of spelling out one s life story on top of one s work and plastering a photo of himself where the reader would be better served by a mirror Suffice it to say he is a Tai Chi instructor at the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association of Madison WI This book is in your hands now Ignore him and read it with your own voice:
Blowback book If I had to pick five words to describe this book they d be educational entertaining cautionary tragic and beautiful..
