One Good Turn Tpb

Why did Peter L. Robertson think he had the “biggest little invention of the twentieth century”?How did a quest to improve the precision of the screw result in Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery? And how did Witold Rybczynski discover the true origins of the screwdriver in an obscure15th-century tome known as the Medieval Housebook, despite historians’ claims that it had not been invented until three centuries later?

In a narrative that reads like a satisfying detective story, Witold Rybczynski takes the humble screwdriver and turns it into an object of mystery, a seemingly simple tool that has driven its way into our history, politics, technology and even fashion.

Along the way he introduces us to a cast of inventors, artisans, tool makers and factory owners whose ingenuity has helped to shape our most essential household tools. From the genius of Leonardo da Vinci to the ambitious marketing plans of Canadian Peter Robertson (critics agree that the Robertson screwdriver is still superior to the Phillips), One Good Turn is a book for all those who love tools and inventions, woodwork and metalwork, and who are curious to know more about the origins of our mechanical world.

Written in Rybczynski’s trademark intelligent, fluid style, and backed by meticulous research, One Good Turn is infused with the author’s personal sense of discovery and enthusiasm for his subject.

True enough. And, Rybczynski discovered, the screwdriver is a relative newcomer in humankind's arsenal of gadgetry, an invention of the late European Middle Ages and the only major mechanical device that the Chinese did not independently invent. Leonardo da Vinci got to it early on, of course, as he did so many other things, designing a number of screw-cutting machines with interchangeable gears. Still, it took generations for the screw (and with it the screwdriver and lathe) to come into general use, and it was not until the modern era that such improvements as slotted and socket screws came into being.

Rybczynski's explorations into that lineage, here expanded to book length, are highly entertaining, and sure to engage readers interested in the origins of everyday things. --Gregory McNamee