The Unreasonable American: Francis W. Davis, Inventor of Power Steering.

Octavo, navy blue cloth (hardcover), gilt letters, map illus. endpapers, 215 pp. FIne, in a Near Fine dust jacket with lightly rubbed edges. From dust jacket: One of the most amazing revelations of disregard for the safety of the public. Why did Detroit withhold power steering from the American public for 26 years? Why did the big automotive giants employ over 9,000 engineers to try and invent around him? How did the persistent "Unreasonable American" win his battle of wits with the large corporations? There is a fascination in watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comforts of life. That is the engineer's privilege. The great liability of the engineer compared to men of other professions is that his works are out in the open where all can see them. His acts, step by step, are in hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes in the grave like doctors. He cannot argue them into thin air or blame the judge like the lawyers. He cannot, like the architects, cover his failures with trees and vines. He cannot, like the politicians, screen his shortcomings by blaming his opponents and hope that the people will forget. The engineer simply cannot deny that he did it. If his works do not work, he is damned." -- Herbert Hoover. Automotive, Automobiles, Technology, American Industry, American Manufacturing, American Business, American Biography, Engineering. yslic.…