Help me find this book of cartoon illustrations of big constructions from my childhood.

November 12, 2012 4:27 PM

When I was a kid, I had this book I remember I loved very much. It was a large hardbound book with colorful illustrations of construction projects. I remember there were ones about building a large dam, building a Saturn V-style rocket, and one about building a skyscraper. There were probably others which I don't remember. The pictures were colorful and cartoonish but had lots of details. Anyone know what book this is?
posted by nohat to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Best answer: The Way Things Work?

It might help if you told us what decade or approximate year.
posted by epanalepsis at 4:30 PM on November 12, 2012

Is it "The Way Things Work"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_Things_Work
posted by greptile at 4:38 PM on November 12, 2012

Response by poster: I had this book in the mid–late 1980s.
posted by nohat at 4:39 PM on November 12, 2012

Or "Incredible Cross-Sections"?
posted by lharmon at 4:40 PM on November 12, 2012

If not something David Macaulay-related (which seems by far the most likely answer), perhaps something from the Diagram Group?
posted by box at 4:47 PM on November 12, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks guys, I think it must be "The Way Things Work." I've ordered a copy and will report back if it's right.
posted by nohat at 5:04 PM on November 12, 2012

If it turns out to be Macaulay, you may be interested in the FPP I did about him a while back. It includes links to "Building Big" (possible source of your skyscraper memory) and a few of his other well-known works.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:55 PM on November 12, 2012

I am going to guess one of the Stephen Biesty books.

Here is his Saturn V
From his Incredible Everything book
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:20 PM on November 12, 2012

Also, if you don't remember any mammoths it probably wasn't the way things work.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:21 PM on November 12, 2012