Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down

This is a popular account of how structures stand up: beams, struts, shells, and the materials they are made from. Gordon explains stress, strain, toughness, and the difference between stiffness and strength, using examples from bridges, ships, aircraft, trees, bones, and everyday objects that crack or buckle. Historical failures sit beside successful design. The writing is explanatory, with diagrams of forces rather than equations for specialists. The book is an introduction to structural mechanics for general readers, not a professional engineering manual and not a history of architecture.

Bound in dark blue buckram cover blocked with a green design by Adam McCauley. Dark blue slipcase.