Kobuk the Destroyer

“Appealingly droll and zippy… As a cheerful tour of invisible expertise, the book earns its place alongside Michael Lewis’s The Fifth Risk or his latest, Blockers.” – Gideon Lewis-Kraus - The New Yorker
”[V]ivid and disarming… Davies makes a compelling case that test engineering—unglamorous, and largely invisible—is among the most consequential contributions to public safety and consumer trust that modern society has produced. Kobuk the Destroyer is an entertaining, informative, and occasionally sprawling celebration of that work—and of the people, and bears, who do it.” – Margaret Linak - Science
”[A]n engaging and entertaining celebration of the people… who try to protect us from dangerous products and our own stupidity… After rigorous (okay, leisurely) study, this researcher concluded that Kobuk the Destroyer can be safely enjoyed by readers.” – Randy Cepuch - Washington Independent Review of Books
”[H]ighly entertaining… . Kobuk the Destroyer will teach you to anticipate problems and protect your plans … just like the professionals do—or else!” – Janelle Shane, author of You Look Like a Thing and I Love You
“When Alex Davies gets curious about a question, I follow him where he goes. This time, the adventure is the story of the people who push the world to its breaking point for the greater good. I can’t remember the last book I devoured this quickly, or the last writer whose company I enjoyed this much.” – PJ Vogt, host of Search Engine
“Only a writer as good as Alex Davies could take a litany of failure?a chronicle of broken things?and turn it into a celebration of human ingenuity. Things fall apart, but Davies tells the story of the people who pick up the pieces, subject them to rigorous testing, and rebuild the world.” – Adam Rogers, author of Full Spectrum
”[Kobuk the Destroyer] tak[es] us through the often rollicking and relentlessly inventive realm of test engineering—where industrious engineers give everything hell so the rest of us don’t have to… . [T]his book left me with fresh respect for the hidden heroes who make sure our world actually works.” – Guru Madhavan, author of Wicked Problems
“Engaging, witty, and deeply insightful… . Alex Davies has a gift for making the complex, hidden work of test engineers accessible and exciting… . A brilliant and long overdue tribute.” – Roma Agrawal, engineer and author of Nuts and Bolts
“Every day, we benefit from the creativity and curiosity of test engineers who reduce safety risks across transportation, health care, and every aspect of our lives. Alex Davies delivers an engaging and illuminating account of how these individuals make our world safer.” – Mark Rosekind, former NASA scientist, NTSB member, and NHTSA chief
“Davies… delivers a systematic peek into a test engineer’s job, diving into the science while maintaining a laser focus on easily understandable explanations.” – Booklist (starred)

Alex Davies is a technology writer, author of Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car, and a former editor at Wired, The Athletic, and Business Insider. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.

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