The Works: Anatomy of a City

by Kate Ascher

Overview

A fascinating guided tour of the ways things work in a modern city

“It's a rare person who won't find something of interest in The Works, whether it's an explanation of how a street-sweeper works or the view of what's down a manhole.”  —New York Post

Have you ever wondered how the water in your faucet gets there? Where your garbage goes? What the pipes under city streets do? How bananas from Ecuador get to your local market? Why radiators in apartment buildings clang? Using New York City as its point of reference, The Works takes readers down manholes and behind the scenes to explain exactly how an urban infrastructure operates. Deftly weaving text and graphics, author Kate Ascher explores the systems that manage water, traffic, sewage and garbage, subways, electricity, mail, and much more. Full of fascinating facts and anecdotes, The Works gives readers a unique glimpse at what lies behind and beneath urban life in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143112709
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/27/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	289,088
Product dimensions:	8.51(w) x 10.86(h) x 0.58(d)
Age Range:	18 - 17 Years

About the Author

Kate Ascher serves on the faculty of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and manages Happold Consulting’s U.S. practice. Prior to taking up her current positions, she worked at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Vornado Realty Trust. Her other books include The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper and The Way to Go: Moving by Sea, Land, and Air.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The Works is both a reference guide and a geeky pleasure."
-Time Out New York

"It's a rare person who won't find something of interest in The Works, whether it's an explanation of how a street-sweeper works or the view of what's down a manhole."
-New York Post

Editorial Reviews

“The Works is both a reference guide and a geeky pleasure.”  —Time Out New York

“It's a rare person who won't find something of interest in The Works, whether it's an explanation of how a street-sweeper works or the view of what's down a manhole.”  —New York Post

From the Publisher

This whale of a book ostensibly illuminates how New York City operates above and below ground. Consider common things, invisible in plain sight, e.g., what goes on under sewer grates or what agencies are involved in a traffic snarl. The "Moving People" chapter has sections on streets, subways, and bridges and tunnels; "Keeping It Clean" details garbage, sewers, and water. If that sounds dry, it's anything but. You can open to any page and find a treasure trove of factoids about parking meters, railroad yards, traffic lights, the mail, sandhogs, and the submarine used to look at leaks in aqueducts. Illustrations and diagrams show graphically "how it works." If you've ever been the curious sort, this is like a little slice of nirvana. ." Douglas Lord, "Books for Dudes," Booksmack! 10/7/10

Library Journal - BookSmack!