By Kate Ascher
Penguin publishes a number of Ascher’s illustrated books on engineering such as The Heights, dissecting buildings, and The Way to Go, dissecting modes of transportation. The Works dissect how a city operates and combines elements from her other two books.
It focuses on New York City to explain everything from freshwater supplies to postal logistics. It really gave me a new appreciation of the inconveniences caused during roadworks by understanding the complexities of underground systems in urban areas.
The book is separated into informative chapters so if you’re a transport nut like me, you can just read on the railway systems in the city. The content does become a little technical in some areas but it should be easy enough for children age 14 and up to understand with the colourful illustrations.
