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37. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values – Robert M. Pirsig
Our best books for engineers list begins with this masterpiece; it is about a road trip across the USA that the narrator and his son take on an old motorbike.
This book is philosophical in nature and talks about the relationship between technology and society.
36. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder – Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Taleb writes about how some things in life benefit from disorder and stress.
This book will get you to think about the uncertain in a different way, and to realise how it can impact our lives.
35. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer – Jeffrey K. Liker
Toyota is regarded as being very efficient with its manufacturing methods.
This book is a must for engineers wanting to learn how to improve quality yet decrease costs.
34. The Science of Structures and Materials – J. E. Gordon
J. E. Gordon explains materials science in his book without going too heavy into the physics and mathematics behind it.
This would be a great book for beginners wanted to understand the structures we see around us.
33. Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook – Carroll Smith
This handbook is perfect for learning hands-on applications for engineering.
Not just for cars, the principles from this book will be perfect for anyone who works with metal.
32. The Way Things Work Now – David Macaulay
This book is packed full of great illustrations simply explaining everyday items.
Primarily for younger engineers, the book has been revised to keep up with newer technology since the initial release.
31. Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World – Mark Miodownik
The author of this book is a materials scientist who is enthusiastic for the materials all around us.
From glass to chocolate, the science and history is explained and will make you appreciate the materials you will use on a daily basis.
30. Built: The Hidden Stories Behind our Structures – Roma Agrawal
Roma Agrawal was the engineer behind London’s Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building.
She explains in this book how we have advanced to create amazing buildings and what goes into the projects to achieve these feats of engineering.
This is one of the leading books for civil engineers.
29. Dune – Frank Herbert
Dune is a fiction book that is perfect for engineers due to its notions of utopian futurism.
Frank Herbert writes about a science fiction world full of adventure and mystery – an unforgettable read.
28. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
This international best-seller is about a mentally disabled young man who wants to be more intelligent.
He volunteers for surgery which has been done only on mice before, namely on an extraordinary mouse called Algernon.
The story details how the young man’s life changes after having the surgery and how the world now perceives him.
A thought-provoking read for any engineer.
27. How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie
Engineers can be stereotypically poor at communicating and forth-coming.
Dale Carnegie writes about methods to improve one’s success when dealing with people.
This will be one of the top books for engineers to improve interaction skills.
26. The Mythical Man Month: Essays on Software Engineering – Frederick Brooks Jr
The Mythical Man Month is a detailed account of human nature and documents it from the perspective of the software and computing industry.
Fred Brooks is known for developing IBMs computers and this talks about this process.
25. The Alchemy of Air – Thomas Hager
The Alchemy of Air is a great book for Chemical Engineers and is an examination of the Haber-Bosch process.
Taking the reader on a journey through the triumphs and terrors resulting from Haber and Bosch’s discovery, this is a book which will certainly get you thinking.
24. Slide Rule – Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute was an Aeronautical Engineer who worked on developing airships and airplanes.
This book gives an interesting history of 1910-1940 aircraft development.
23. The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn – Richard W. Hamming
Richard Hamming’s book is a reminder that learning and creativity is accessible to everyone.
He argues that highly effective thinking is a skill that can be learned.
22. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future – Ashlee Vance
Elon Musk’s biography is an inspiring book which gives an in-depth account of Elon Musk’s life.
Any engineer who has lost motivation for engineering should read this book.
21. Airframe – Michael Crichton
This novel about an unexpected incident on an airline flight is full of twists and turns throughout.
This book has technical history of aviation highlighting them through air disasters.
20. Existential Pleasures of Engineering – Samuel C. Florman
In Samuel Florman’s book, he explores how engineers think and feel about their profession.
This book is perfect for every type of engineer – it is an overview of engineering meeting philosophy.
19. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right – Atul Gawande
If you don’t already, this book will get you to use checklists on a daily basis.
There are a lot of examples in this book of how checklists can bring improvements across lots of different industries.
These principles should be carried across to engineering.
18. Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants – John D. Clark
Ignition! explores the history of rocket propellant chemistry.
This book takes the reader on a journey through the history of rocket propellant research from the late 1800s to the 1980s.
17. Sled Driver: Flying the World’s Fastest Jet – Brian Shul
Written by Brian Shul, one of the pilots of the SR-71 Blackbird, this book puts you right in the cockpit with one of the most amazing feats of engineering.
This is one of the finest books for engineers interested in aviation. There are wonderful stories and pictures contained within.
16. Hitting the Brakes: Engineering Design and the Production of Knowledge – Ann Johnson
Ann Johnson highlights the complicated social, historical, and cultural dynamics of engineering design.
A case study of the development of the antilock braking system (ABS) is used to examine the process of research and development.
15. How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer – Adrian Newey
If you have an interest in Formula 1, this book is a must-read.
Adrian Newey gives a detailed account of his career in F1 and highlights the technical problems and solutions that were crucial for each race season.
14. The Soul of A New Machine – Tracy Kidder
This is the story of a company’s efforts to bring a new microcomputer to market.
A documentary style book, this would be perfect for someone who works in product development, where personalities and strange coincidences can drive a project.
13. Engineer to Win – Carroll Smith
Authored by an expert in racing technology, this engineering book covers all forms of engineering cars.
It details an in-depth analysis of aerodynamics, brakes, tools, metallurgy, fatigue and more.
12. The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World – Simon Winchester
Engineering and accuracy always go hand-in-hand, meaning that this book is definitely a recommended read for anyone in the profession.
Simon Winchester’s The Perfectionists (called ‘Exactly’ in the UK) explores how precision has been crucial to our technological advancement throughout the ages.
A great book if you are interested in the history of machining.
11. The Design of Everyday Things – Don Norman
Don Norman’s book will get you thinking about designing with the end user in mind – the human.
Human psychology has a huge impact on design.
Reading this book will make you reflect on how your designs will actually be used and how to design them for humans.
10. Machinery’s Handbook
One of the best books for mechanical engineers. This handbook focuses on the basic principles of engineering to ensure a sophisticated manufacturing practice.
It is the most popular reference book for engineering and has been in production for more than 100 years.
9. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement – Eliyahu M. Goldratt
This is a great read to start learning about Lean and other six sigma principles. It is regarded as one of the best books for engineers to read.
If you’re involved in manufacturing or production, read this book as it will help you find ways to improve operations.
8. Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
This is a must read book written by Tony Fadell – he led teams that designed the iPod, iPhone and Nest thermostat.
This book is packed full of advice that will resonate with other engineers, whether they are the designer or the CEO! This is one of the best books for engineers.
7. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions – Randall Munroe
You may already know Randall Munroe from xkcd.
He is an expert at answering strange hypothetical questions with well thought out scientific answers.
This hilarious book will get you thinking about hypothetical questions in a different light.
6. “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character – Richard P. Feynman
This book came highly recommended.
The Nobel physicist Richard Feynman gives insightful stories from his life in his world of science.
5. The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don’t Fall through the Floor – J. E. Gordon
This book from 2018 gives an introduction to the different materials used in engineering and their properties.
A background is given as to why materials behave like they do.
4. The Martian – Andy Weir
Andy Weir’s novel (later turned into a film starring Matt Damon) is exciting and is full of technical detail.
Make sure this is on your “to-read” list!
3. To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design – Henry Petroski
This best-selling engineering book goes through famous engineering disasters throughout history.
Henry Petroski describes the design process for structures such as bridges and skyscrapers.
This is a must for civil engineers.
2. Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed – Ben R. Rich
Ben Rich was in charge of the legendary Lockheed Martin Skunk Works – a secret division that led to the development of phenomenal aircraft such as the U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird.
Make sure you have this on your bookshelf if you love aerospace engineering.
1. Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down – J. E. Gordon
The top of the best books for engineers list is Structures by J. E. Gordon.
Basics concepts that every engineer should know are highlighted and broken down into simple language.
If you haven’t already, make sure to read this book.
Now We’d Like to Hear From You
There you have it: the top 37 best book for engineers that aren’t textbooks.
Now we’d like to hear what you have to say:
Have you already read some of the books in this post?
Or maybe you have a book that you would recommend.
Either way, let us know by leaving a quick comment below.
If you want to know the most useful tools for engineers, check out 23 Engineering Tools You Should Know About.
5 thoughts on “37 Best Books for Engineers (That Aren’t Textbooks)”
What about “The Way Things Work” by David Maculay? That book is a classic!
Thank you for the great suggestion – the book has been added to the list!
Hey there, great article, very useful.
If I could add a couple suggestions:
*Humble Pi (When math goes wrong in the real world) – by Matt Parker
*Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field – by Grady Hillhouse
*The Gecko’s Foot: Bio-inspiration: Engineering New Materials from Nature – by Peter Forbes
Hi Treven, thanks for the great book recommendations!
These are now on our “to-read” list 📖
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