Status Updates From Pencil (Object Lessons)

"to reflect on the pencil is to reflect on engineering: a study of the pencil is the study of engineering", henry petroski

A book series about the hidden lives of ordinary things

“The Object Lessons series has a beautifully simple premise. Each book or essay centers on a specific object. This can be mundane or unexpected, humorous or
politically timely. Whatever the subject, these descriptions reveal the rich worlds hidden under the surface of things.

fascinating details and conveyed in sharp, accessible prose, the books make the
everyday world come to life. Be warned: once you’ve read a few of these,
you’ll start walking around your house, picking up random objects, and
musing aloud: ‘I wonder what the story is behind this thing?’”

“The Object Lessons series achieves something very close to magic: the books
take ordinary—even banal—objects and animate them with a rich history of
invention, political struggle, science, and popular mythology. Filled with fascinating details and conveyed in sharp, accessible prose, the books make the
everyday world come to life. Be warned: once you’ve read a few of these,

historical evolution of creativity through the lens of one of its simplest yet most powerful tools—the pencil