STRUCTURES: The Way Things Are Built ...

STRUCTURES: The Way Things Are Built by Nigel Hawkes (Collier Books: $20; 240 pp., illustrated). Although he doesn’t provide detailed explanations of how many of these feats of building were achieved, Hawkes offers an overview of engineering wonders from the ancient world (the terra-cotta army of Qin Shi Huangdi, Cleopatra’s Needle) to such modern creations as the Very Large Array radio telescope, the Seikan rail tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido and the Odeillo Solar Oven. However, the non-technical discussions, historical anecdotes and dramatic photographs make “Structures” interesting and informative.