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Disasters By Design: How Engineering Failures Shaped the Modern World

From the creator of the popular YouTube channel Practical Engineering and author of Engineering In Plain Sight comes a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at what happens when structures fail and how those catastrophes shape our lives today.

Why Things Go Catastrophically Wrong

When a giant bridge collapses, a gas explosion blows up a building, or a major dam bursts, it’s hard not to wonder how things could have gone so catastrophically wrong. According to Grady Hillhouse, those failures are the defining force of engineering. The most important lessons in human history have been learned the hard way. In Disasters by Design, Hillhouse brings the same engaging and accessible approach that makes his YouTube videos so popular to the page, breaking down complex failures into their component parts.

What’s Inside the Book?

Disasters by Design explores history’s greatest structural breakdowns to reveal how engineers learned from their mistakes and developed the core principles that keep buildings standing today. Featured case studies include:

  • The Leaning Tower of Pisa: An enduring lesson in foundations and soil mechanics.

  • The Johnstown Flood: What happens when capacity for risk outstrips regulations.

  • The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse: How unexpected challenges are a cost of innovation.

  • New Orleans Levee Failures: Why structures meant to protect the public can make flooding worse.

Disasters By Design - Interior

Beyond the Blueprints: Learn to Think Like an Engineer

Not all of us will design a skyscraper or lay out a major electrical grid, but thinking like an engineer can change the way you look at the world around you. This book is more than a list of historical mistakes. It is an exploration of human resilience and our extraordinary capacity for progress. By understanding these disasters, you will learn how to:

  • Spot weak links in complex systems.

  • Respect margins of safety in everyday choices.

  • Value hard truths over wishful thinking.

About the Author

Grady Hillhouse is a professional civil engineer and the creator of Practical Engineering, one of the largest and most popular engineering channels on YouTube. For years, he has dedicated himself to making the built environment accessible and fascinating to millions of viewers around the world. Disasters by Design is his latest project aimed at highlighting the human stories, triumphs, and missteps behind the infrastructure we take for granted.

Don’t Wait for the Next Collapse

Coming spring 2027. Pre-order your copy of Disasters by Design today and discover the fascinating hidden forces that keep our world standing.

For information on Grady’s first book, Engineering In Plain Sight, click here!