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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 711.6 EAN: 9780393059977 ISBN: 0393059979 Label: W. W. Norton Manufacturer: W. W. Norton Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 512 Publication Date: September 26, 2005 Publisher: W. W. Norton Studio: W. W. Norton Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: We are surrounded by the hardware of the modern world, but how much of it do we even notice, much less understand? This unique and fascinating book covers the parts of the landscape that are often overlooked despite their ubiquity--objects such as utility poles, power lines, cell phone towers, highway overpasses, railroad tracks, factories, and other man-made mechanical marvels. And they are not just in urban areas, but include out of the way "ecosystems" such as mines, dams, wind farms, power plants, grain operators, steel mills, and oil refineries. In Infrastructure, Brian Hayes offers clear explanations of the systems that keep the modern world running, including agriculture, energy supplies, shipping, air transportation, and the various ingenious methods of recycling and managing the waste we generate. Subtitled "A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape," the book is laid out like a nature guide, with comprehensive details and photographs on every page. "There can be just as much of interest happening on a factory rooftop as there is in the forest canopy, just as much to marvel at in the operation of a strip-mining dragline as in the geological carving of a river canyon," writes Hayes. A mine may not be as scenic as a mountain peak, but he argues it can hold as much fascination. His "chief aim is simply to describe and explain the technological fabric of society, not to judge whether it is good or bad, beautiful or ugly." In this he does an impressive job. He tells us how things work and why they are located where they are, and answers dozens of practical questions in the process. He also walks us through how raw materials such as coal, timber, petroleum, and water are converted and transported for use in our homes and businesses. Readers won't view the industrial landscape that same way after poring over this remarkable book. --Shawn Carkonen Product Description: A companion to the man-made landscape that reveals how our industrial environment can be as dazzling as the natural world. Replete with the author's striking photographs, Infrastructure is a unique and spectacular guide, exploring all the major "ecosystems" of our modern industrial world, revealing what the structures are and why they're there, and uncovering beauty in unexpected places—awakening and fulfilling a curiosity you didn't know you had. Covering agriculture, resources, energy, communication, transportation, manufacturing, and waste, this is the "Book of Everything" for the industrial landscape. The objects that fill our everyday environment are streetlights, railroad tracks, antenna towers, highway overpasses, power lines, satellite dishes, and thousands of other manufactured items, many of them so familiar we hardly notice them. Larger and more exotic facilities have transformed vast tracts of the landscape: coal mines, nuclear power plants, grain elevators, oil refineries, and steel mills, to name a few. Infrastructure is a compelling and clear guide for those who want to explore and understand this mysterious world we've made for ourselves. 500 color illustrations. Average Rating:
 Rating: - What a terrific resourceThis book is a treasure. I am especially impressed with the strong reception it receives from some environmental activists, teachers and students I have shared it with. I hope someone like Ken Burns will want to make it into a TV documentary. Jack Malinowski Phila. Pa. Rating: - Fantastic - learn about all that stuff around that you usually ignore.For me, this book brought a new level of fun to driving around. Another take on the many things that 'make civilized life possible.' Rating: - Wonderful, eye-opening bookThis engrossing book leads the reader on a tour of industrial features that one would encounter on both a cross-country or cross-town trip. After reading this book, you will find yourself---as I did---pointing out industrial installations and explaining their use to friends and family. The glossy, full-color pictures are the most striking feature of this large book. They superbly complement the already excellent, clear, and well-organized text. I was also particularly impressed by ... Read More Rating:  - nature guide for the artificial landscapeIf you go for a walk and start actually looking around, you'll see a lot of things that most of us don't really understand -- power lines, sewer systems, the mysterious blue telephone junction boxes. This book explains why and what these things are -- think of it as a Nature Guide for the human-made environment. Do you have Sibley's Guide? Well, you should have one of these, too. My only quibble -- the pages are below standard quality for a hardback book. But never you mind -- don't be picky, ... Read More Rating: - American version of how does everything workA proviso that must be made is that this is a very-USA-centric book. No disrespect intended as it is a beautifully photographed and relatively detailed (plus references for a lot more information) tome. Just something to keep in mind as the world is not (yet?) flat in infrastructure. I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable, but I learned quite a bit in each chapter. I can imagine a similar book for Infrastructure 1925 (or so). Would be fun to see what has been lost (trains/streetcars/twice ... Read More |
