Built to Last

Everything David Macauley does is wonderful. He has a number of books about buildings, old and new, being built or being dismantled—browse around for the other titles. His drawings are fantastic, fun to look at and very instructive. This one collects three, all fascinating, on the building of houses of worship for three major religions. The Cathedral book is especially poignant now, with Notre Dame having been through the terrible fire. (I wonder if it's too much to hope that Macauley would do a book on its restoration; it's worth googling some of the details about that work.) Very, very highly recommended. Rewards repeated reading.

In preparation for a trip to Europe, I checked out the McCaulay's older edition of "Cathedral" from the library. After seeing how much my kids loved it, I decided to purchase it. What I didn't initially realize was that "Built to Last" includes the entire updated, colorized edition of "Cathedral" and two other books, "Castle" and "Mosque." If you are thinking of buying any one of those books separately, buy this one instead! I also compared the older edition of "Cathedral" with the newer version and I have to say that I greatly prefer it in color. However, it is not just a colorized version of the black and white. Many of the images have completely changed and, in my opinion, it is a great improvement. The classic version is incredible and certainly got my kids hooked, but these newer illustrations really bring the people and buildings to life. Our entire family has been enjoying these and I know it will increase our understanding and appreciation of what we see on our trip. Thank you, David McCaulay, for creating such wonderful books that both educate and spark the imagination!

I loved the illustrations in this book! It really did a fantastic job of explaining the process of building massive projects back then when there were no earthmovers to do the work. It was all done by hand and ingenuity. I plan on buying more of David Macaulay's books now that I am hooked!

I have always like David Macaulay's work and as a child really liked his "The Way Things Work". Built to Last follows a similar path as that book only with architectural wonders that have stood the test of time. The illustrations are fascinating and allow you to see the true labor that is necessary to build these structures. Castle and Cathedral were stand alone books that have been brought together with Mosque to give a unique description of how these buildings came to be. The book also shows how distinctly different each building was made yet, how each technique has stood the test of time. It really got me thinking as a child and I remember using my lego's to mimic the buildings. I am a father now and I wanted to instill the same wonderment in my son so I picked this up. The new color illustrations are fantastic and you can tell a lot of work went in to make them look really good. (Original was black and white and in order to make them color and look right the drawings had to be redone). While the content of the book might be a little over the head of a small child the images inspire the inner engineer and I think that is great.

I loved David Macaulay's books as a kid and am happy to see my own girls love them too. His 'The Way Things Work' book is a popular hit at bedtime (despite being far above their level) but his book City got a tepid response because it's not in color. Well this collection of 3 of his earlier books is in full color and got a warm response from our girls. It's still far above their level but it does get them thinking about how things are built and why they look the way they do. We live overseas right now and I was happy to see Mosque included. I'm not that familiar with how mosques are built and learned a lot too. I hope there will be a sequel with books like City, Underground and Unbuilding. The last two especially offer insights into the world around us, how modern cities work, and will be great reads.

Fantastic. Great visuals of construction techniques, foundations and timelines all written to follow simple plots that give a good grasp of where, why and by whom these structures were built. The pictures are not only entertaining but show great detail of how roofing was accomplished by rolling together the edges of lead sheets; how windows were framed with stone being laid flat for carving then lifted into place and secured; how arches were supported while under construction and the methods used to ensure they stayed perfectly shaped. This book includes the three books castle, cathedral and mosque. I already had castle, bought this and now can either get rid of the castle-only book or use it to write notes in. Highly recommend for anyone interested in how these structures went up.

Great book - my 11 year old son seems fascinated by it. It doesn't seem to pack the wonder for him that his The Way Things Work book does, as I had hoped. Because it might be a read once and put aside book for him, I'm giving it 4 stars. The book I would highly recommend is: https://www.amazon.com/Way-Things-Work-Now/dp/0544824385/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483469030&sr=8-1&keywords=how+it+works+book

Amazing looks like i found a way to build a house that wont blow away.

Ein Muss für Erwachsende und Kinder welche sich für Technik interessieren.

We've just used this in our home educating environment, concentrating initially on 'Mosque' as we've been looking into Islam. Not really knowing anything before, we've been left fascinated with the details and thought involved - in the construction of the Mosque 'community'. The information is presented as if at that time; the drawings and details are very pleasing to the eye. Later in the spring-time we'll move onto 'Castle' which I'm confident will be equally as interesting.

I am reading it with my 3.5yo son - the text is way too advanced for him, but it makes it interesting for me, and he loves to study the drawings instead! It's a fine book, well researched and some drawings offer surprising perspectives, that actually reveal everything you ever wanted to know about those magnificent buildings...! And if you consider this book is actually three books in one, it is also a real bargain.