Structures

Book Review

Delightful Engineering Classic

Hey everyone! Ian here! Welcome to our book review of Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down by J.E. Gordon. First published in 1978, this is one of the most delightful and accessible books ever written about engineering and the physical world. It explains why buildings stand up, why ships float, and why bones and trees are shaped the way they are — all with warmth, humor, and zero equations.

Gordon's Warm Expertise

J.E. Gordon was a British materials scientist and engineer who spent his career working on aircraft, ships, and biological materials. After retiring from the Royal Naval Scientific Service he wrote two legendary books that made the science of structures available to ordinary readers. Structures remains his masterpiece — funny, opinionated, and genuinely eye-opening.

Nature's Structural Wisdom

The book walks through the basic principles of stress, strain, beams, columns, and shells, but it does so through stories and examples rather than formulas. Gordon shows how nature has been solving structural problems for hundreds of millions of years and how human engineers have slowly caught up. He is particularly scathing about modern architecture that ignores these principles and about the way engineering education sometimes obscures the simple truths with unnecessary mathematics.

Chapter 8 Spoiler Warning

Now I'm going to spoil some of the best parts, especially Chapter 8, because that is where the book becomes truly fascinating for anyone interested in biology.

Designing a Worm

Chapter 8, “How to Design a Worm,” is the section that blew me away as a biologist. Gordon takes the problem of building a long, flexible, tubular animal that must move through soil or water and shows exactly how evolution solved it. He explains the importance of the hydrostatic skeleton, the arrangement of circular and longitudinal muscles, and why a worm’s body is essentially a pressurized tube with cleverly oriented fibers. The chapter is a masterclass in how mechanical constraints shape living things.

Biological Engineering Masterclass

It made me see every earthworm and every soft-bodied invertebrate with new respect. Gordon shows that the same rules that govern the design of a submarine or a garden hose also govern the evolution of a worm. It is one of the best pieces of biological engineering writing I have ever read.

Concrete Boats and Wooden Skyscrapers

The rest of the book is equally strong. Gordon explains why you can build a boat out of concrete but not a skyscraper out of wood, why medieval cathedrals sometimes fell down, and why the giant sauropod dinosaurs were actually very well engineered. He has a particular affection for biological materials — bone, tendon, wood, and insect cuticle — and shows how they often outperform man-made materials when measured by the right criteria.

Nature Outperforms Man-Made

The tone is conversational and occasionally mischievous. Gordon clearly enjoys puncturing pomposity and he has no patience for engineers who hide behind complicated mathematics when simple observation would do. The book is full of memorable lines and vivid analogies.

Essential Reading for Biologists

If you have any interest in how the physical world actually works — whether you are an engineer, a biologist, an architect, or just someone who has ever wondered why trees don’t fall over — this book is pure pleasure. Chapter 8 alone is worth the price of admission for anyone who studies living things. It remains one of the great bridges between engineering and biology. Thanks for watching, and happy reading!