Anyone wondering what sort of experience prepares one for a future as an engineer may be surprised to learn that it includes delivering newspapers. But as Henry Petroski recounts his youth in 1950s Queens, New York–a borough of handball games and inexplicably numbered streets–he winningly shows how his after-school job amounted to a prep course in practical engineering.

Petroksi's paper was The Long Island Press, whose headlines ran to COP SAVES OLD WOMAN FROM THUG and DiMAG SAYS BUMS CAN'T WIN SERIES. Folding it into a tube suitable for throwing was an exercise in post-Euclidean geometry...

Anyone wondering what sort of experience prepares one for a future as an engineer may be surprised to learn that it includes delivering newspapers. But as Henry Petroski recounts his youth in 1950s Queens, New York–a borough of handball games and inexplicably numbered streets–he winningly shows how his after-school job amounted to a prep course in practical engineering.

Petroksi's paper was The Long Island Press, whose headlines ran to COP SAVES OLD WOMAN FROM THUG and DiMAG SAYS BUMS CAN'T WIN SERIES. Folding it into a tube suitable for throwing was an exercise in post-Euclidean geometry. Maintaining a Schwinn revealed volumes about mechanics. Reading Paperboy, we also learn about the hazing rituals of its namesakes, the aesthetics of kitchen appliances, and the delicate art of penny-pitching. With gratifying reflections on these and other lessons of a bygone era–lessons about diligence, labor, and community-mindedness–Paperboy is a piece of Americana to cherish and reread.

1 All You Need Is a Bike

2 There Are 1809,1849 of Us

3 Summer Drizzles In on Long Island

4 Clothes Can Make or Break the Boy

5 Kids Get Lesson in Press Tricks

6 TV Magazine Added to Sunday Press

7 Queens Parents Demand More Schools Now

8 24 Pages...5 Cents

9 Gyp Bureau Urged for Long Island

10 Caught by a Sleepless Conscience

11 Catholic High to Cost 2 Million

12 Commuters Herded on Buses like Cattle

13 The Honest Boy, a Christmas Story

14 Everyone Takes Cover in CD Test

15 A Broken Sewing Machine Leads to a Broken Heart

16 Doesn't Need a License Because He Can't Drive

17 The Kid Who Drinks the Most Is Champ!

18 Bingo's Back Again in Queens

19 Ike Praises Newsboys

20 Education Plan for Space Age Unveiled

Acknowledgments