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Building Big Review

David Macaulay takes the reader on a tour of some of the really big civil engineering structures of our time. Building Big has sections on Bridges, Tunnels, Dams, Domes, and Skyscrapers. Each part of the book describes the design and construction of from four to ten outstanding examples of the structure highlighted. The examples in each category are described in chronological order with some going back to the time of ancient Rome. The drawings that accompany the text are excellent at focusing on the details and techniques described. The integration of text and graphics is wonderful. In each case, Macaulay describes the design objectives, the interplay between the structure and the environment, and the engineering solutions used to bring the structures into being. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in structural engineering and design. I have not seen the related PBS video series, but I can say that the book stands on its own very well. Highly recommended.

Building Big Overview

Why this shape and not that? Why steel instead of concrete or stone? Why put it here and not over there? These are the kinds of questions that David Macaulay asks himself when he observes an architectural wonder. These questions take him back to the basic process of design from which all structures begin, from the realization of a need for the structure to the struggles of the engineers and designers to map out and create the final construction. As only he can, David Macaulay engages readers' imaginations and gets them thinking about structures they see and use every day - bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, domes, and dams. In Building Big he focuses on the connections between the planning and design problems and the solutions that are finally reached. Whether a structure is imposing or inspiring, he shows us that common sense and logic play just as important a part in architecture as imagination and technology do. As always, Macaulay inspires readers of all ages to look at their world i

Building Big Specifications

David Macaulay's hit PBS series by the same name cannot take you as far as this book does into the wonders of the constructed world: dams, domes, skyscrapers, tunnels, and bridges. It's also a trip through time, transporting you, for instance, from Rome's Ponte Fabricio (built in 62 B.C.) to the 1930s Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to France's Ponte de Normandie across the Seine, which was the longest bridge on earth when completed in 1994. Some of the wires that so ingeniously hold up the Golden Gate are depicted in their intricate engineering context--and at their actual size. As you pore over Macaulay's crystal-clear text and profuse illustrations, the mental fog lifts and you get a sense of what a marvelous act of imagination the bridge is.

In books about building, the whole art lies in the details. Macaulay gives you a glimpse into the minds of the designers, too: in making a tunnel under the Thames River in London, Marc Brunel was inspired by shipworms, "the scourge of the Royal Navy," mollusks who used shieldlike shells to bore holes through timber "and then had the audacity to create a rigid lining in the wood with material they excreted." Though the poor workers who created Brunel's tunnel shields had to brave fiery explosions of methane gas and vile fumes from centuries of sewage--and as Macaulay rather rudely puts it, "Brunel's shield now seems a bit like a platoon of creaking Star Wars robots leaning against each other for support as they inch their way nervously through the muck"--the construction did the trick. That tunnel begun in 1825 is still part of the London Underground subway system.

Macaulay can construct a sound sentence: a child can grasp his celebration of the art of engineering, and a grownup can read him with childlike glee. --Tim Appelo

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Customer Reviews

Excellent Book! - Book Collector - Minnesota
This book, along with the companion website on PBS make a great unit study for learning about the engineering that goes into building. Our kids have really enjoyed this book!

Building Big does a great job explaining civil engineering concept! - QZO - Chesapeake, VA
This book is outstanding! It's informative, yet easy to read. I have used it as the textbook for my high school engineering class for two years, and the students love it!

Great Book - M. Tomson - Salem, OR United States
I bought this book for my 6 year old son who is an avid builder. I knew that the text would be above his head, so I read the book before giving it to him so I could summarize the paragraphs for him. He asks to look at this book every night and loves it. This is not a picture book as it has a lot of text, but the pictures are well done, and he has gained some basic building concepts that he uses with his Legos and blocks. He likes to look at the book about how they build a structure (he is really fascinated by the Hoover dam and Petronas Towers) and they we look online at the completed pictures. It's a great book for older children (or if you want to take the time with a younger child to explain it) and I recommend it.

A Great Gift for Someone Who Loves Architecture - Joan Shaddox Isom - USA
I gave this book as a gift to someone who loves and understands architecture. He found it most interesting. It contains many facts that are not generally know about large, historical structures.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 01, 2010 10:38:05

Children's Books

Wednesday, September 1, 2010