Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment

My 5 year old son is obsessed with construction and infrastructure, and I thought this was a good gift for him. What I did not anticipate is my son wanting to read it EVERY NIGHT before bedtime, each time asking to start from the very beginning. It has colorful illustrations on every other page, alternating with monochrome illustrations on every alternate page. I also did not anticipate my husband and I to sneak this book our of my son's room in the evenings, to read it ourselves. Only to wake up to an upset child who can't find his favorite book! It explains complex concepts in easy to understand language that I can then retell my 5 year old. It doesn't treat a reader as a 5 year old, rather explaining things clearly and plainly without making them childish and too generalized. I would recommend to anyone, now I have a renewed interest in looking around for electric poles wiring, storm drains and train tracks. Not just a fun book, but adds fun to your everyday life by making you pay attention to little noticed things that make our world run.

good intro to engineering

What a fabulous little book! Filled with attractive illustrations and fun descriptions. Answers so many questions I had about the creations I see every day. Even as an engineer myself, there was so much to discover. At the risk of sounding like a plug, his YouTube channel is great, too.

A useful book for high school students to open their eyes to basic engineering practices. Even as an experienced engineer i got a lot from it. I also like the video broadcasts of the author. Thanks a lot.

I purchased this book a while back when it first came out for my son who was about 2 or 3 and he LOVED it then and still loves it now at age 4.As you can see the diagrams are clear and easy to follow. There are also humerus things happening in many of the illustrations, which my son giggles about and he gets quite a lot of joy from.It’s a great book to just grab and flip to a random page a and learn something new.I think it’s the kind of book that he’ll be able to get more and more from over time and eventually be able to read himself.I wish Grady would make another book like this focused just on climate change - why it’s happening and what we can do to reverse it.Grady is a phenomenal communicator and I am really impressed both with this book and his YouTube channel!

Bought this for a deeper understanding of engineering concepts in everyday life.What I like • The illustrations make complex engineering concepts easy to grasp. • Covers a wide range of topics, providing practical examples of engineering in daily surroundings. • The clear explanations help make engineering more accessible to non-experts.What could be better • Some sections might feel too basic for those already familiar with engineering principles. • Could benefit from more in-depth exploration of specific engineering fields. • The layout could be a bit more organized for easier reference.Bottom line: A great introductory guide to engineering with visual explanations, but may not be detailed enough for experts. Perfect for beginners or anyone curious about the engineering behind everyday objects, but look for more specialized resources if you're looking for deeper knowledge.

I already knew of Grady from his YouTube channel, Practical Engineering, but I would recommend this book even to folks who don't know the first thing about engineering. I am very much not a Math Person, and for years I was very intimidated by the mere idea of engineering. Grady is so talented at explaining the information and making it accessible that I found myself not just learning some basic concepts but enjoying it too. And once I had the book in hand, I've thoroughly enjoyed being able to - as he puts it - explore the constructed environment. We see so much of this stuff, every day! It's almost like a glimpse into a strange world, all the things that make modern life possible - and comfortable!The book is well organized, the illustrations are both informative and in places very amusing (there's a poor unfortunate engineer), and while this is not necessarily aimed at kids, I feel like my ten year old nephew would have NO trouble understanding the material, and would likely enjoy it too!

This book is great for explaining the random structures which we see everyday. It's also full of conversation starters, I've realized.