Why the wheel is round Muscles, technology, and how we make things move

Posthumously published, Why the Wheel Is Round was written by Vogel (1940-2015), a celebrated researcher and author in the field of biomechanics. He focuses on the intersection of biology (specifically the physics of muscles, joints, and other "moving parts") and mechanical engineering--often comparing a biological system to a mechanical system. The author's final book is specifically about the design of mechanical wheels and the rotation found in nature. It covers both a brief history of human inventions that have some rotational aspects, natural analogs to these systems, and instructions for building simple demonstration models. This book, like Vogel's previous titles, is written in a conversational style that makes it accessible to laypeople and undergraduates, even though it addresses complex topics. It is appealing both as a popular science title and as an educational reading tool for graduate students, faculty, and other researchers interested in the field of biomechanics. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; faculty and general readers. --K. Megan Sheffield, Clemson University