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Cover of The Way Things Work by David Macaulay

The Way Things Work

David Macaulay

  • 384 pages · about 6 hours
  • First published 1988
  • 26 editions
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1 About this book

The Way Things Work is a 1988 nonfiction book by David Macaulay with technical text by Neil Ardley. It is a whimsical introduction to everyday machines and the scientific principles behind their operation, describing machines as simple as levers and gears and as complicated as radio telescopes and automatic transmissions.

Every page consists primarily of one or more large diagrams describing the operation of the relevant machine. These diagrams are informative but playful, in that most show the machines operated, used upon, or represented by woolly mammoths, and are accompanied by anecdotes from a mysterious inventor of the mammoths' (fictive) role in the operation.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Technology
  • Inventions
  • Technological innovations
  • Mechanics

2 About David Macaulay

Born 1946

David Macaulay (born 2 December 1946) is a British-born American illustrator and writer. His works include Cathedral (1973), The Way Things Work (1988), and its updated revisions The New Way Things Work (1998) and The Way Things Work Now (2016). His illustrations have been featured in nonfiction books combining text and illustrations explaining architecture, design, and engineering, and he has written a number of children's fiction books.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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