Quantity:


	Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more

More Buying Choices

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Get a �0.25 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card

Share your own customer images

Search inside this book

Tell the Publisher!
I�d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Why Buildings Fall Down [Paperback]

Matthys Levy (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

RRP:	�12.99
Price:	�10.29 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Deal Price:
You Save:	�2.70 (21%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 9 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, May 30? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

	Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Hardcover	--	--	--
Paperback	�10.29	--	--
Show # more paperbacks
Show fewer paperbacks

Trade In this Item for up to �0.25

Trade in Why Buildings Fall Down for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to �0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra �5 when you trade in books worth �10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.

› See more product promotions

Frequently Bought Together

Price For All Three: �27.57

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together

This item: Why Buildings Fall Down by Matthys Levy Paperback �10.29

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Why Buildings Stand Up: Strength of Architecture from the Pyramids to the Skyscraper by Mario Salvadori Paperback �7.39

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall down by J.E. Gordon Paperback �9.89

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall down by J.E. Gordon
4.8 out of 5 stars (20)

�9.89
Why Buildings Stand Up: Strength of Architectu... by Mario Salvadori
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)

�7.39
The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don... by J E Gordon
4.6 out of 5 stars (14)

�9.09
To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Su... by Henry Petroski
3.9 out of 5 stars (8)

�12.56
Why Things Break: Understanding the World by... by Mark E. Eberhart
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)

�6.74
Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Tho... by Henry Petroski
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)

�12.76

Product details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.; New edition edition (1 Sep 1994)
Language English
ISBN-10: 039331152X
ISBN-13: 978-0393311525
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 190,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #82 in Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Civil Engineering > Structural Engineering

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Matthys Levy

Mario Salvadori

Kevin Woest

Mario George Salvadori

Product Description

"Whatever goes up must come down" does not, fortunately, apply to most of the structures in today's world. In fact, whenever a building, a bridge, a tunnel, or a dam collapses nowadays, it is front page news and often the beginning of a hunt for clues and culprits as fascinating as any detective story. In this book, two of the world's premier structural engineers take us on a journey through the history of architectural and structural catastrophes, from the Parthenon and Rome's Coliseum to more recent disasters such as the Ronan Point Tower in London, the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City and the Malpasset Dam in France. This is a book that delights as it instructs, an easily digested feast of architectural flops and flummoxes, whether caused by natural disaster or human error, or both.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
According to the Old Testament, the early inhabitants of the earth, the ancient Babylonians, were "of one language, and of one speech." Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

design(4)

science(3)

structure(2)

engineering(2)

beginner s guide(2)

henry petroski(2)

construction(3)

art(1)

failure(1)

history(1)

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall down by J.E. Gordon Paperback
4.8 out of 5 stars (20)

�9.89

Why Buildings Stand Up: Strength of Architecture from the Pyramids to the Skyscraper by Mario Salvadori Paperback
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)

�7.39

The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor (Penguin Science) by J E Gordon Mass Market Paperback
4.6 out of 5 stars (14)

�9.09

Materials for Architectural Design by Victoria Ballard Bell Paperback
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)

�18.85

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

7 reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

A clear and entertaining book 20 April 2003

By A. K. Johnston VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Such is our morbid fascination that this book is inevitably more attractive than one called “Why Buildings Stay Up”. That said, I think I have not only learned more about structural engineering than I would have done from a positive counterpart, but I have also learned vastly more about the other factors, human and natural, that influence the ultimate success or failure of structures.

The book is based on the same material as the late 1990s TV series of the same name, and having watched that series many of the incidents and issues were familiar to me. The advantage of the book is the ability to digest information at your own speed and refer back to earlier pages, but it has to be said that the TV series communicated some of the issues better, helped by animated graphics and by the better mutual support of both pictures and narrative.

Each chapter takes a topic, whether a human factor like the law, a type of construction such as the dome, or a cause of failure such as metal fatigue, and then illustrates the issues by consideration of a number of case studies, frequently including some notable successes as well as dramatic failures. In the case of failures the book always attempts to assess both the practical cause, and also any human cause, impact and implications.

The book is very well written, in an accessible style supported by some useful appendixes on structural engineering principles. However, sometimes the simple line drawings and verbal descriptions of a structure don’t manage to communicate a full understanding, and more sophisticated illustrations might have helped.

Mario Salvadori died in 1997 (at the good age of 90), and the surviving author, Matthys Levy updated the book in 2002. My feelings on the update are mixed: the chapter on terrorism, culminating with the collapse of the New York Trade Centre towers on September 11th 2001 is excellent; but why did the author not acknowledge the brilliant success of efforts to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the late 1990s?

Overall I heartily recommend this book to anyone with a serious or lay interest in structural engineering, and the many complex human and natural issues which influence it.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

A tecnical book easily understandable by non-engineers 21 Feb 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

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!

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Entertaining read for anyone with a passing interest in buildings 9 Aug 2010

By Linc

Format:Paperback

Written in a style that will keep both technical and non technical readers entertained, the authors talk the reader through the different chapaters in in a light and friendly manner. The book explains the roots behind several major structural failures often showing that the problems were deeper than simple engineering cock ups and could be traced back to political, financial or poor management decicions. I enjoyed the plentiful hand sketches explaining the different failures although i suspect a non engineer might benefit from some actual photographs which would make things clearer.

I found this much better than it's predecessor 'Why Buildings Stand Up' which was a bit too vague for my liking. I think Salvadori hits the nail on the head with his quote from his mother in law after she read 'Why Buildings Stand Up' - "This is nice, but i would be much more interested in reading why they fall down" - And she was right.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

› See all 7 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Write a customer review

Would you like to see more reviews about this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 21 reviews

Were these reviews helpful? Let us know

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Mistakes repeated

This book is a follow up to Mario Salvadori's "Why Buildings Stand Up" and unfortunately suffers from the same weaknesses. Read more

Published on 10 Jan 2010 by E. Carter

Bedtime reading

This is excellent reading if you ever have trouble staying awake at night :-) Actually, it is excellent reading in general. Read more

Published on 17 July 2008 by Peter Debney

An excellent read for technical and non-technical alike

Having read 'Why buildings stand up' I immediately searched this one out. This book continues to be an excellent read for technical and non-technical persons who have an interest... Read more

Published on 11 Jun 2000 by marc.bradfield@breathe.co.uk

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. Read more

Published on 29 May 1998

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }