About the Book
Humans are builders—we make structures to span rivers, to connect points of land, to offer shelter. Indeed, throughout history, civilizations have created structures of such immense scale, requiring such tremendous resources, that they might have been thought impossible. From the Taj Mahal to the Suez Canal, from Solomon's Temple to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, these feats of macro-engineering are a testament to the creativity and foresight of engineers, architects, government officials, and diplomats. Who came up with the ideas for these projects? How did they see them through to completion? What obstacles—diplomatic, legal, logistical, and engineering—had to be overcome for these structures to be built? What impact did these engineering projects have on the economies and cultures of their societies? This encyclopedia answers all these questions, showing how central these great engineering projects are to the history of civilization. It includes the legal documents that launched them.
Building the World comprises detailed entries on over forty of the most important engineering projects in world history, such as: Washington D.C., the Eiffel Tower, and the Channel Tunnel. The rich illustration program includes 66 photographs and 30 illustrations, maps, and drawings that document the most important structures ever built. Each entry includes a detailed history of the planning and construction of the project, and a discussion of its subsequent importance. A unique feature of the encyclopedia is an extensive primary source collection that illustrates how the decision to create such a structure came to be, demonstrating the importance of individuals in imagining, planning, and building some of the most famous engineering landmarks in the world.
Table of Contents:
Volume 1
Solomon's Temple
Founding of Cyrene
Aqueducts of Rome
Grand Canal of China
Protective Dikes and Land Reclamation
Founding of Baghad
Charlemagne's Works
London Bridge
New River
Taj Mahal
Canal des Deux Mers
Founding of St. Petersburg
Washington, D.C.
Erie Canal
City of Singapore
Suez Canal
U.S. Trans-Continental Railroad
Brooklyn Bridge
Canadian Pacific Railraod
Eiffel Tower
Trans-Siberian Railroad
Panama Canal
U.S. Federal Highway System
Volume 2
Colorado River and Hoover Dam
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Manhattan Project and Atomic Energy Act
Alaska Highway
Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Project
Mont Blanc Tunnel
Brasilia
NASA and the Apollo Program
High Dam at Aswan
Communications Satellite (COMSAT)
U.S. National Trails System
Shinkansen: National High-Speed Railways
Trans-Alaska Pipeline
Itaipu Hydro-Electric Power Project
Abuja
Channel Tunnel
Sematech
Central Artery Project ("Big Dig")
About the Author :
Frank P. Davidson was the American co-founder (1957) of The Channel Tunnel Study Group and the initiator of teaching and research in macro-engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Davidson has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and has been appointed a Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor.
Kathleen Lusk Brooke is the Founder and Managing Director of the Center for the Study of Success. She is the author of many works on policy and management, including the book Mobilizing the Organization: Bringing Strategy to Life.
Review :
This source is an excellent summary of major engineering efforts to improve utilities, recreation, and other projects that affect people's lives on a daily basis. It outlines and documents the ideas and events surrounding the need for, use of, and processes involved in these projects. Descriptions of the 41 interdisciplinary projects encompass their scientific/technological aspects, from the water supply and wastewater systems of ancient Rome to the Big Dig highway project in Boston. Projects involve hydrology, transportation, railways, space exploration, and the founding of various cities worldwide. In this reviewer's experience, very few resources provide this type of information on major municipal structures. Not only is this work educational and informative, the selected references for each project include book and journal bibliographic sources, historical and current documents of authorization, and Internet, film, television, and musical resources….Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.
Building the World is a two-volume, wide-ranging reference work dealing with macroengineering projects, that is, those engineering projects that were among the largest and most technically complex accomplished at various periods of history….the work focuses on 41 of humanity's major building projects….the entries are well-written and genuinely fun to read, especially for those not familiar with the history of civil engineering….Amost every entry has something to pique the general reader's interest.
[W]hat is included is unique in the attention they draw to the vision, the details of construction, and the historical ramifications of these audacious, outrageous, and ultimately successful giant engineering feats.
Building the World has a unique approach to describing forty-one major projects undertaken by mankind throughout history….Building the World was meant to provide a greater understanding of the role that such structures have played not just in the transformation of the physical world, but in the growth and development of societies and cultures (xi). The editors have met this goal, and have done so for audiences ranging from high school students to professionals and from artists to diplomats. The encyclopedia reads easily and is suitable for public and academic libraries alike, including technical libraries.
Building the World is a first purchase for colleges and universities with programs in engineering. Students in other fields, such as architecture, history, and technology, would find the information in the articles revealing, and general readers would find their interest piqued. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
Building the World tells the stories behind 41 key projects, giving readers a look into the visionary individuals and often combative teams behind these projects, their historical contexts and surprising facts, and even the real estate contracts and other essential paperwork.
Davidson and Lusk Brooke draw on 35-plus years of experience in engineering and history, including periods as academics at both MIT and Harvard, in assembling the first encyclopedia to cover 41 of the world's most significant, large engineering projects, from early human civilization to modern times. Each chapter describes the project's historical background, cultural context, planning, building, and importance in history, and includes the text of the original authorizing documents, where available. The collection offers readers a greater understanding of how these structures have transformed the physical world and influenced the growth and development of societies and cultures. For students, scholars and professionals in national and regional history, engineering and technology, law, architecture, public art, and historic preservation; government leaders, diplomats, planners, and social scientists; and the general public.
