Engineering in Plain Sight
Grady Hillhouse, the engineer behind the Practical Engineering videos, wrote this illustrated guide to the built world around us. It explains the power lines, transformers, cell towers, storm drains, traffic signals, and pipelines we see every day but rarely understand. Each section uses clear drawings and plain language to answer the small questions that pile up on any walk or drive, like what those numbers on a utility pole mean or why manhole covers are round. The result is a browsable reference that turns an ordinary street into something you can actually read.
What you might want to know about Engineering in Plain Sight
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A civil engineer's illustrated field guide to the everyday infrastructure most people walk past without a second look.
It was written by Grady Hillhouse, a civil engineer known for his Practical Engineering YouTube channel. It was published by No Starch Press in 2022.
No. It is written for general readers and uses simple illustrations and plain language to explain the infrastructure we see every day.
Engineering in Plain Sight is 248 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Engineering in Plain Sight takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
Engineering in Plain Sight is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
