<P> <I>Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World</I>is a long overdue introduction to the work of visionary industrial designer Brooks Stevens(1911-1995). Believing that an industrial designer "should be a businessman, an engineer, and astylist, in that order," Stevens created thousands of ingenious and beautiful designs for industrialand household products -- including a clothes dryer with a window in the front, a wide-mouthedpeanut butter jar, and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. ("There's nothing more aerodynamic than awiener," he explained.) He invented a precursor to the SUV by turning a Jeep into a station wagonafter World War II, and streamlined steam irons so that they resembled aircraft. It was BrooksStevens who, in 1954, coined the phrase "planned obsolescence," defining it as "instilling in thebuyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than isnecessary." This concept has since been blamed for everything from toasters that stop working totoday's throwaway culture, but Stevens was simply recognizing the intentionally ephemeral nature ofa designer's work. Asked once to name his favorite design, he replied, "none, because every onewould have to be restudied for the tastes of tomorrow."</P><P>This book, whichaccompanied an exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum (the repository for Stevens's papers), includes250 illustrations of designs by Stevens and his firm, many in color. Glenn Adamson, exhibitioncurator, contributes detailed studies of individual designs. John Heskett, Kristina Wilson, and JodyClowes contribute interpretive essays. Also included are a description of the Brooks Stevens Archiveand several key writings by Brooks Stevens.</P>