Another kind of engineer, even more grievously ignored, is the
tool-maker. We
take it for granted that a hacksaw blade will work and that Swiss Army knives
will unfold into a plethora of useful gadgets. But is the famous pocket knife
really Swiss? Discover all this and more in Did Monkeys Invent the Monkey
Wrench? (Simon & Schuster, $21, ISBN 0 684 80132 9), Vince
Staten’s
account of hardware stores and hardware stories. He clearly shares that
lust for
ownership that overcomes many of us when faced with racks of drills and
screwdrivers.
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