By way of concrete examples -- Things happen -- Designed to fail -- Mechanics of failure -- A repeating problem -- The old and the new -- Searching for a cause -- The obligation of an engineer -- Before, during, and after the fall -- Legal matters -- Back-seat designers -- Houston, you have a problem -- Without a leg to stand on -- History and failure

Argues that failures in structural engineering are not necessarily due to the physical design of the structures, but instead a misunderstanding of how cultural and socioeconomic constraints would affect the structures