Infrastructure A Guide to the Industrial Landscape

Replete with the author's striking photographs, the revised and expanded edition of Infrastructure is a unique and spectacular guide to all the major "ecosystems" of our modern industrial world. In exploring railroad tracks, antenna towers, highway overpasses, power lines, coal mines, nuclear power plants, grain elevators, oil refineries, steel mills, and more, Brian Hayes reveals how our familiar and often-overlooked industrial environment can be as dazzling as nature. With a new chapter reflecting on recent natural and technological disasters--from Hurricane Katrina to the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors-- Infrastructure is a compelling and clear guide for those who want to explore and understand this mysterious world we've made for ourselves.

"A richly illustrated trove of photographs and details about the structures that make modern life possible." Eben Shapiro

"One of the most magical books I've chanced upon...Pick up Brian Hayes, and the power lines and drains around you will soon reclaim their just share of beauty and significance." Wall Street Journal

" reveals a strange beauty in objects." Alain de Botton The Observer

"When seen through the discriminating lens of author and photographer Brian Hayes, man-made objects appear as exquisite and natural as organic ones." Brad Lemley and Josie Glausiusz Discover

" reveals a strange beauty in objects." Wall Street Journal

"Original, highly readable. . . . An extraordinary book." --Anne Eisenberg,

Brian Hayes is a senior writer for American Scientist and the recipient of a National Magazine Award. He spent more than fifteen years working on this book. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.