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How David Macaulay Illustrates 'The Way Things Work'

12:31

October 14, 2016

Illustration of how a smart phone works from "The Way Things Work Now" by David Macaulay. (courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Everyday we use hundreds of simple and complicated machines in our homes, at work and in school. From hybrid cars and smartphones, to the Green Line train on Commonwealth Avenue, our lives are transformed by some ancient and modern feats of engineering.

But how does it all work?

That's the question at the heart of David Macaulay's best-selling 1988 illustrated book "The Way Things Work." Generations of children have flipped through the hundreds of colorful pages of Macaulay's work, following along as curious wholly mammoths learn how ramps, lasers and cars function.

A lot has changed since 1988, and the Vermont-based Macaulay's third version of his book is now out. It's called "The Way Things Work Now."

David Macaulay will be presenting at the Boston Book Festival on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Guest

David Macaulay, co-author and illustrator of "The Way Thinks Work Now."

Illustration of how speech recognition works from "The Way Things Work Now" by David Macaulay. (courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) — Illustration of how speech recognition works from "The Way Things Work Now" by David Macaulay. (Courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

An illustration of how touch screens work from "The Way Things Work Now" by David Macaulay. (courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) — An illustration of how touch screens work from "The Way Things Work Now" by David Macaulay. (Courtesy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

This segment aired on October 14, 2016.