History buffs can easily get an education alongside
Western highways. Interpretive signs point out where Chief Joseph
retreated, and where Lewis and Clark spent the winter. But what if
you want to know what’s coming out of the smokestack in the
distance? Or what gets made inside that gigantic steel structure
you just passed? The state historical societies may not tell you,
but Brian Hayes will be thrilled you asked.
Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial
Landscape is a wonderfully conversational explanation of
“everything that isn’t nature,” as Hayes writes. Following a
rough arc from production to disposal, Hayes begins by decoding the
visible signs of mining, waterworks and agriculture, then moves on
to the energy grid, communications, transportation, and waste and
recycling. With gentle enthusiasm and oddly beautiful photographs,
Hayes shows us how the modern world really works, and the view is
unexpectedly fascinating. Even technophobes may find themselves
intrigued by the intricacies of highway overpasses, substation
capacitors and wind turbines.
Hayes, a senior writer for
American Scientist, spent more than fifteen
years photographing and writing Infrastructure,
and the effort has clearly paid off. The only problem with this
tome is its coffee-table size: It’s so informative, and so
strangely addictive, that one wishes for a pocket edition for road
trips.
Hayes takes no moral stand on the human
transformations of the natural landscape, proposing only to shed
light on “all the miscellaneous hardware that goes into making a
civilization.” But in illuminating humanity’s hardware, Hayes
encourages his readers to look more closely at both the unnatural
and natural landscape. In the process, he also manages to renew our
sense of wonder: Who knew there was so much inspiration in a pile
of concrete?
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Deciphering humanity’s hardware.
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