Engineering in Plain Sight

Grady Hillhouse is a civil engineer and science communicator widely known for his educational video series Practical Engineering, currently one of the largest engineering channels on YouTube with over 2 million subscribers and millions of views each month. His videos, which focus on infrastructure and the human-made environment, have garnered media attention from around the world and been featured on both the Science Channel and Discovery Channel in addition to many other publications. Before producing videos full time, Hillhouse spent nearly ten years as an engineering consultant, working on a wide variety of infrastructure projects with a focus on dams and hydraulic structures. He holds degrees from Texas State University and Texas A&M University.

"Hillhouse takes all of the mysterious structures we see every day, from cable boxes to transformers to cell phone towers, and explains what they are and how they work. It’s the kind of read that will reward your curiosity and answer questions you didn’t even know you had. "—Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-founder"An outstanding resource on a wide range of civil engineering subjects for all readers. Wonderful for browsing, reading, or researching." —Rob Tench, Library Journal"[Engineering In Plain Sight] is a fun, informative book that helps educate on the world around us."—Geek_Dude, GeekTechStuff"A plain explanation of every day engineering . . . [with] enough detail to satisfy even a lot of detailed questions about infrastructure." —Lee Teschler, Design World Online"Grady is the perfect person to explain engineering to us . . . he's a brilliant storyteller who can translate that knowledge into engaging tales that even the technically-challenged among us can dig into. His book [Engineering in Plain Sight] is the perfect extension of this unique skill set. By taking a concept usually applied to the natural world - a field guide! - and applying it to the, um, non-natural one, he's helped me understand for the first time basic but important things ... like how a cell tower actually works."—David Goldenberg, MinuteEarth"Highly readable and illustrated with plenty of diagrams, making the material accessible to non-engineers . . . it would serve very well as a reference book for classrooms and the school library."—Terry Freedman, ICT & Computing in Education"Perfect for those with a curious mind and restless imagination." —E.D. Corbeels, Purdue Reviewer"Written for anybody that just wants to learn about the world around them . . . I highly recommend it." —Isaac Oakeson, Civil Engineering Academy"This is a 'Bob the Builder' guide for young adults and older who are curious about common miracles of engineering. From asphalt to voltage regulators, they'll never look at the world the same." —The Austin Chronicle