Rust : the longest war (2015)

A reasonably riveting read. It ambles leisurely and changes focus from history to science onto art and engineering and it serves the subject matter well. Previous interest in rust not a prerequisite to enjoying this book. ( )

Rust is, nominally, a book about corrosion. As an engineer, I enjoy reading about the scientific things that people deal with every day but usually pass along unnoticed. Rust is one of those things.

I thought that the book started out really strong, discussing the issues specific to the Statue of Liberty and its rehabilitation in the early-mid 1980s. From the choice of materials to how it was painted, every decision in its design and rehab made a big impact on its stability over time. I found the entire chapter to be captivating and I had a hard time putting the book down. It set the stage for what I was hoping would be a really interesting book.

After that, however, I thought that the book really dragged and never really got around to the more technical discussions hinted at in the first chapter. A lot of time was spent discussing individuals. A photographer who took many pictures of the Bethlehem Steel buildings, a DOD bureaucrat who is in charge of managing corrosion projects, an Alaska pipeline integrity manager. The latter chapters in Rust spent endless ink talking about individuals and how much facial hair they did or didn't have. One chapter, instead of discussing details of corrosion issues specific to the military, gave me a blow-by-blow of every word and expression and sigh of LeVar Burton.

Also, there were some things in this book that gave off the odor of insufficient research. The number of Star Trek series that the author mentioned didn't include The Animated Series. (You can't pretend to nerd out about Star Trek if you're not actually a Star Trek nerd.) He referred to Rochester Polytechnic Institute, which isn't actually a university.

Overall, I'd rate this book adequate. It definitely had more potential than execution, but I can't say I felt like I wasted the time I spent reading it. ( )

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Why ever read a biography of Rust? I also asked myself this question when I started reading it. But then I remembered I once read a book on Rain and wondered the same thing. However, both rust and rain are parts of life and their respective books were more interested than previously expected.

There were some genuinely interesting parts in this, some things I had previously never even considered. Like the restoration of the Statue of Liberty but more importantly the part on the canning industry. Made me look differently the next time I took a can.

Some parts were a bit long winded though, but I think more people than expected will find this interesting.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

Rust (corrosion) is a constant companion to all life on Earth. It seems to happen so slowly that we fool ourselves into thinking that we can deal with it later. This book covers corrosion across the range of human experience. It interesting due to how tremendous of an impact corrosion has on modern life. A lot of the book is detailed and filled with facts. It slowed my reading down as I tried to absorb and remember information. ( )

What could have been a really interesting look at the engineering challenges posed by rust is mostly wasted by enormous focus on the people involved in the fight against rust, who seem committed and good at their jobs but really not meriting that kind of attention, which one of them even says to Waldman. He should have listened. ( )