Anyone wondering what sort of experience prepares one for a future as an
engineer may be surprised to learn that it includes delivering
newspapers. But as Henry Petroski recounts his youth in 1950s Queens,
New York-a borough of handball games and inexplicably numbered
streets-he winningly shows how his after-school job amounted to a prep
course in practical engineering.
Petroksi's paper was The Long Island Press, whose headlines ran to COP
SAVES OLD WOMAN FROM THUG and DiMAG SAYS BUMS CAN'T WIN SERIES. Folding
it into a tube suitable for throwing was an exercise in post-Euclidean
geometry. Maintaining a Schwinn revealed volumes about mechanics.
Reading Paperboy*,* we also learn about the hazing rituals of its
namesakes, the aesthetics of kitchen appliances, and the delicate art of
penny-pitching. With gratifying reflections on these and other lessons
of a bygone era-lessons about diligence, labor, and
community-mindedness-Paperboy is a piece of Americana to cherish and
reread.