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

Engineering in Plain Sight is a beautifully illustrated field guide with accessible explanations to nearly every part of the constructed world around us.

Author Grady Hillhouse is the creator behind the popular YouTube channel Practical Engineering (over 3 million subscribers!) and this book is essentially 50 new episodes crammed between two covers.

Engineering in Plain Sight extends the field guide genre from natural phenomena to human-made structures, making them approachable and understandable to non-engineers. It transforms readers’ perspectives of the built environment, converting the act of looking at infrastructure from a mundane inevitability into an everyday diversion and joy.

Each section of this accessible, informative book features colorful illustrations revealing the fascinating details of how the human-made world works. An ideal road trip companion, this book offers a fresh perspective on the parts of the environment that often blend into the background. Readers will learn to identify characteristics of the electrical grid, roadways, railways, bridges, tunnels, waterways, and more. Engineering in Plain Sight inspires curiosity, interest, and engagement in how the infrastructure around us is designed and constructed.

From the Publisher

“A fun, informative book that helps educate on the world around us.”

—Geek_Dude, GeekTechStuff

“A plain explanation of every day engineering . . . [with] enough detail to satisfy even a lot of detailed questions about infrastructure.”

—Lee Teschler, Design World Online

“Delighted to pre-order a copy of this. This is probably going to be my all-time favorite book.”

—@GavinInNY

About the Author

Grady Hillhouse is a civil engineer and science communicator widely known for his educational video series Practical Engineering, currently one of the largest engineering channels on YouTube with over 2 million subscribers and millions of views each month. His videos, which focus on infrastructure and the human-made environment, have garnered media attention from around the world and been featured on both the Science Channel and Discovery Channel in addition to many other publications. Before producing videos full time, Hillhouse spent nearly ten years as an engineering consultant, working on a wide variety of infrastructure projects with a focus on dams and hydraulic structures. He holds degrees from Texas State University and Texas A&M University.

About the Publisher

No Starch Press has published the finest in geek entertainment since 1994, creating both timely and timeless titles like Python Crash Course, Python for Kids, How Linux Works, and Hacking: The Art of Exploitation. An independent, San Francisco-based publishing company, No Starch Press focuses on a curated list of well-crafted books that make a difference. They publish on many topics, including computer programming, cybersecurity, operating systems, and LEGO. The titles have personality, the authors are passionate experts, and all the content goes through extensive editorial and technical reviews. Long known for its fun, fearless approach to technology, No Starch Press has earned wide support from STEM enthusiasts worldwide.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Starch Press; Combined edition (November 1, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 171850232X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1718502321
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1250L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.28 x 0.85 x 10.32 inches