Building Big (Companion to the PBS Series)

Building Big by David Macaulay

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. 

Book Details:

• Number of Pages: 192
• Book Size: 9" x 11"
• Book Type: Paperback
• Recommended Ages: 8 and up
• ISBN 10: 0618465278
• ISBN 13: 9780618465279

Book Condition:

• This book is brand new and is in perfect condition.

A companion to the PBS series.

Why We Love It

Even if you haven't seen the PBS series "Building Big", this book is fabulous on it's own! Children of all ages will learn something from this book — in a fun way!

Think Outside the Book

To enhance your learning experience, we've provided links below to educational websites regarding the subject matter of this book... we've done the research for you! 

PBS - Building Big - Building Big is a great opportunity to get kids thinking about structures they see every day. You can use the television series and Web site to increase students' awareness of their built environment and the impact of technology on society, while teaching basic physical science concepts. This Educators' Guide is a Web version of the printed Activity Guide created for the Building Big television series.