The true story of the unknown engineers defending the modern world from the costliest natural disaster on earth, also known as corrosion. 

[published by Simon & Schuster in 2015]

*** now in paperback ***
(via Amazon, IndieBound, Bookshop, Books a Million, B&N, Apple, or Audible)

HIGHLIGHTS

A surprising tale of science and drama, with lies, threats, scams, nukes, and war; last wishes, impalement, and decapitation; underemployed cats and flying pigs; senators, presidents, and unknown superheroes; Frank Sinatra and LeVar Burton; Big Auto, Big Oil, Big Tobacco, and the paint army; carloads of cheeseheads, strange poems, a lot of mustaches, and rust boogers. (Also featuring: x-ray fluorescence, electro-impedence spectroscopy, magnetic-flux leakage, ultrasonic transduction, cathodic protection, thermodynamic diagramming, and galvanizing.)

ACCLAIM

*One of the Wall Street Journal’s “Best Books of 2015″*

*Winner of the Colorado Book Award*

*A Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist*

*An Amazon editor’s pick for “best nonfiction”*

*A Powell’s “Staff Favorite” selection*

*A Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection*

 PRAISE

“What a remarkable, fascinating book… The clarity and quiet wit of Waldman’s prose, his gift for narrative, his zeal for reporting and his eye for detail, these things and more put him in a class with John McPhee and Susan Orlean.”
–Mary Roach

“…A literary odyssey. Part adventure, part intellectual exploration, part pure fun…”
–Deborah Blum

A “book of nonstop eye-opening surprises… brilliantly written and fascinating…”
–Booklist

A “sprightly debut…Waldman is a bright and curious companion in this lively adventure…”
–Kirkus

“[Part of the] hallowed tradition in science writing, going back at least to John McPhee’s early career, of choosing a seemingly drab subject and making it pop through simple, stubborn attention to personality and detail… Wide-ranging and consistently engrossing. Mr. Waldman makes rust shine…”
-Gregory Cowles, The New York Times

“A mix of reporting and history lesson that never gets boring… impossible to put down.”
–Men’s Journal

“Compelling… Mr. Waldman does a masterful job of interweaving elements of the science and technology…”
—Henry Petroski, The Wall Street Journal

“A lively collection… It’s a detailed, fun read with a valuable reminder…”
–Publishers Weekly

A “dexterous technological study… The science compels, but what leap from the page are Waldman’s snapshots of rust geeks…”
–Nature

“One of those books that examine the fabric of our material world and pick at its scabs…. The chapter on the cans is among my favorites… there is a lot of science and engineering involved, and Waldman explains what you need to know quite well… His account of the life of the Englishman Harry Brearley, the discoverer of stainless steel, is the best I have ever read… This book does make you see the world differently.”
-Mark Miodownik, The New York Times Book Review

“An unexpected pleasure… fascinating… fresh and frequently funny…”
-Powell’s

“Illuminating… great reading… fascinating… Waldman writes with such enthusiasm for his subject that it’s nearly impossible to avoid losing oneself.”
–Los Angeles Review of Books

“Very readable…”
-Elizabeth Drew, New York Review of Books

“Absorbing… an entertaining book crammed with fascinating tidbits… marvelously immersive… Waldman proves a shrewd storyteller [and] an accute observer, and he paints vibrant portraits…”
–American Scientist

“Waldman’s first book is as obsessive as it is informative… he takes us deep into places and situations that are too often ignored or unknown… an energetic take on a scourge that gnaws at the fabric of the industrial world…”
–The Washington Post

“Waldman writes in a sassy style laced with humour, with some particularly comic moments … there is plenty to enjoy in its rich cast of rust-busting characters.”
-Financial Times

“[Waldman] weaves a wonderfully diverse tapestry…”
–Science News

“Scintillating and refreshing… Waldman strikes the perfect balance… insightful, sharp and elegant… a delight.”
–Royal Society of Chemistry

“Entertaining, quirky… [Waldman’s] irreverent wit, nose for a good story and investigative journalist’s need for answers are on full display… His book is well researched and lively, mixing just enough science with human interest… Rust is wonderfully told, full of little known facts, sly asides and heroes and villains alike… A smart, entertaining, fascinating trip…”
––Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Waldman is an amusing tour guide… fun and enlightening…”
–Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Absorbing and interesting…”
-Physics World

“Waldman, who has a dry sense of humour, admits that engineers will be horrified by his colloquial use of the term rust. They should be thrilled someone has managed to fashion a surprisingly readable book from such an unpromising subject…  the keenness of his eye… a meticulous reporter… by the end you find yourself examining everyday metal objects — door handles, railings, iPad cases — with a strange new fascination.
-The Times (UK)

“Waldman smoothly alloys his torrent of eye-catching facts and details with human eccentricity and charm.”
-Literary Review (UK)

“A science journalist with a predilection for hands-on reporting, Waldman [tells] an interesting story…[with] stylish prose…”
–Boston Globe

“Fascinating”
-Discover

“Engrossing…compelling…Waldman’s gift for narrative non-fiction shines in every chapter…”
-Natural History

A “lively book… Don’t be put off by the subtitle, The Longest War. Waldman has embarked on the opposite of a slog.”
–The Atlantic

“Fascinating”
–Scientific American

“Whimsical… entertaining… Waldman has a light touch and a way of making even the driest material sing.”
–Columbus Dispatch

An “uproariously winning debut” by “the most likable of guides” … “immensely readable prose… a perfect blend of informative and entertaining.”
–Open Letters Monthly

“Waldman pieces together an unusual, lively history of humanity’s battles against rust, in a debut that calls to mind the quirky explorations of Mary Roach.”
–Daily Camera

“Riveting… well-oiled prose… A gifted writer… he glides elegantly from the micro to the macro… he has, with exactitude and flair, created an actual page-turner about rust.”
–Bostonia

“[Waldman] has a mildly disturbing obsession with masculine facial hair.”
–Gary McCormick, Amazon reviewer

INTERVIEWS

RADIO: Marketplace, the Brian Lehrer Show, The Takeaway, WLRN, KERA, WHYY, WNPR, WESA, WAMC, Wisconsin Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio.

PRINT: Propeller Magazine (with Evan P. Schneider), The Last Word on Nothing (with Cameron Walker).