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The Works: Anatomy of a City
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The Works: Anatomy of a City Paperback - 2007

by Kate Ascher

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Offering a cross section of hidden infrastructure, this title uses innovative graphic images and clear text explanations to answer questions about the way things work in a modern city.

Summary

Read Kate Ascher's posts on the Penguin Blog.

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

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.

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From the publisher

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.

First line

New York city is a city of streets.

Details

  • Title The Works: Anatomy of a City
  • Author Kate Ascher
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: First
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, New York, NY
  • Publication date 2007-12-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Index, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780143112709 / 0143112708
  • Weight 1.92 lbs (0.87 kg)
  • Dimensions 10.78 x 8.46 x 0.6 in (27.38 x 21.49 x 1.52 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Mid-Atlantic
    • Cultural Region: Northeast U.S.
    • Demographic Orientation: Urban
    • Geographic Orientation: New York
    • Locality: New York, N.Y.
  • Category Sociology
  • Library of Congress subjects City planning, Infrastructure (Economics)
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2005048915
  • Dewey Decimal Code 307.121

Media 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

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.
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The Works: Anatomy of a City
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The Works: Anatomy of a City

by Ascher, Kate

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The Works: Anatomy of a City
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The Works: Anatomy of a City

by Ascher, Kate

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Penguin Books, 2007-11-27. paperback. Very Good. 10x8x0. ***VERY GOOD*** Contains one or two pages of minor writing or highlights, and Underlines. Legible and in good shape. Minor to slightly heavy wears on cover from warehouse shelves. (Used so may not contain codes/CDs/Inserts that is included with the book.
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The Works: Anatomy of a City

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