Customer Reviews

Building Big: Tunnels

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Tunnels begins with David Macaulay telling a ghost story. It seems a number of people died in the tunnel he was exploring. Tunnels is another in the five-part Building Big series by David Macaulay. Often forgotten, tunnels have been important in the development of civilization. Romans built tunnels to carry water to Rome. Railroad would have been trapped in the flatlands had it not been for tunnels and modern cities would be choked with traffic if not for subways and underground railways. After watching this documentary, one is glad not to be buildings tunnels under rivers and waterways as David recounts the accidents and deaths connected with these structures. David explores the development of tunnels and uncovers their importance. Other episodes in the series include Bridges, Domes, Dams, and Sky Scrapers. If you are interested in how things were built, tunnel into this story.

The narrator says tunnels have always been scary and creepy to many humans. It was hard to get excited about this installment precisely because bridges, skyscrapers, and other subjects are much more visually appealing. Still, this spoke about the London tube, the Holland Tunnel in NYC, the tunnel under the English Channel, etc. This installment ends with a segment for little kids, so perhaps the entire work is meant for parents and children to watch together. The work doesn't sugarcoat matters; it is upfront that workers and passengers, in the past and now, have died in tunnel accidents. This may be a good work to inspire young people who want to be engineers or transportation planners.