Praise from readers "A superb book on how to prevent and minimize technological disasters." —P. Roy Vagelos, M.D. Retired Chairman and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc. "If you want to know how serious technological disasters can be, how poorly we tend to handle them, and what can be done to reduce or eliminate the dangers associated with them, this is the book for you." —Russell L. Ackoff, Professor Emeritus of Management Science at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania "A thorough compendium of technological disasters, complete with detailed descriptions, analyses of what happened, what went wrong, and why. This lucid book candidly addresses human and societal failings that need to be corrected if future disasters are to be prevented." —Severo Ornstein, Internet Pioneer and Founder of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility "Minding the Machines provides us with insights that are greatly needed to cope with the major technological disasters that are endemic to our times." —David A. Hounshell, David M. Roderick Professor of Technology and Social Change, Carnegie Mellon University "An excellent, balanced, and highly readable book emphasizing human, social, and organizational elements universally present in technological disasters." —Carver Mead, Gordon and Betty Moore Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology, 1999 Lemelson-MIT Prize Winner "This book presents a systematic analysis of the root causes of technological disasters, accompanied by many riveting examples. More importantly, the authors provide the reader with an enlightening discussion on how we can prevent them." —David J. Farber, The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Business and Pubic Policy at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Description A complete blueprint for preventing technological disasters in the 21st century. Why do technological disasters occur, and how can we prevent them? How do we design technological systems that enhance human life rather than imperil it? How do we live with the technology we have created? In Minding the Machines , William M. Evan and Mark Manion offer a systematic and provocative guide to preventing technological disasters. They reveal the hidden patterns and commonalities beneath more than 30 of the worst technological tragedies of recent history—and identify powerful preventive measu...