Underground [Hardcover]

David Macaulay (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

David Macaulay takes us on a visual journey through a city's various support systems by exposing a typical section of the underground network and explaining how it works. We see a network of walls, columns, cables, pipes and tunnels required to satisfy the basic needs of a city's inhabitants.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A straightforward yet fascinating description of the labyrinth beneath the feet of any city dweller. And what a complex covered world David Macaulay reveals! He invents an intersection of two streets and proceeds to show what we all might find if we dared to descend through that Alice-in-Wonderland manhole." The New York Times

About the Author

David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given "to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations." Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (September 29, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039524739X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395247396
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,131,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given "to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations." Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars anatomy of an infrastructure, July 11, 2004

By 

David Group (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underground (Paperback)

This book ranks as one of Macaulay's best, as it reveals the networks of systems that are the lifeblood of a city, from various building foundations to sewers to subways, showing how they are constructed and sometimes interact with each other. The text, though minimal, is packed with information, which is supplemented by the superb and detailed drawings. One of the coolest aspects of the book, though, is the views from below, as if a rat with x-ray vision were able to gaze up at this intricate maze of technological wonders. Macaulay's sense of humor is evident throughout, as seen by his inclusion of various critters (including an alligator and an elephant), lots of references to dogs and fire hydrants, a billboard ad for his book PYRAMID, and even a human skull and hand (!!) in one drawing of an excavation. Great fun to read and highly recommended.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Visual Imagination and Wit, January 1, 2007

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Underground (Paperback)

Most book illustrators portray buildings from an eagle's eye perspective. A few talented illustrators will open up the buildings and give insightful cross sectional views. What makes this book so special is that David Macaulay shows us buildings from the perspective of looking up from the bedrock on which the building rests. This is unique and is typical of Macaulay's great visual imagination and wit.

This book concentrates on a big city corner where four large buildings sit. The story begins with the foundation excavation, the pouring of foundation pilings and moves up to building infrastructure that sits just below the city street. We are all aware that a great deal of engineering goes into making large cities livable. However, there is nothing like a well illustrated book to help one understand the sheer complexity of our modern infrastructure.

I would recommend this book to older children with an interest in the physical world around them. It is also a great book for adults with an interest in architecture and urban planning. There are illustrators with better drafting skills than David Macaulay but when it comes to sheer imagination, Macaulay is in a league of his own. Highly recommended.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "What are those round metal things in the street?", October 4, 2002

By 

KURT H KROHN (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underground (Paperback)

What Mr. Macaulay does is pull up a city by the roots, shake the dirt off, and take a no-nonsense (well, maybe a little nonsense) look at what is revealed. The illustrations are clear and informative, with just a touch of whimsy. The book covers sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water lines, electricity, telephone, subways and building foundations. A gift for aspiring civil engineers of all ages!