The Way Things Work
David Macaulay
12 people recommended it in 6 threads, 2009–2026.
1 commenter pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
Now 35 years later my kids and I sometimes spend hours looking through the same book.
The Way Things Work - I still remember the frabjous day when I understood how an internal combustion engine worked.
I spent hours as a kid, slowly parsing, contextualizing, researching every iota and minutiae of that book.
My father gave me a copy in 1992 and as late as 1997 I used the mammoth-infested diagram of a half-adder (the only depiction I had access to in my teenage pre-internet-connection days) to build a 4-bit full adder out of discrete logic.
Probably the single most influential on my technical education. Each page made me feel like I was inside the machines.
"the way things work", the book with all the woolly mammoths in it. Learned a lot from it
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read? 2024 · 4 recommendations
- Ask HN: Most influential books you read growing up 2017 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books. 2009 · 2 recommendations
- Seven books I keep close because I love them 2026 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? 2016 · 1 recommendation
- Aaron Swartz: The Book That Changed My Life 2013 · 1 recommendation