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On the Grid: A Plot of Land, An Average Neighborhood, and the Systems that Make Our World Work
by
Scott Huler
A lively, captivating investigation into the infrastructure that makes society possible
In our daily lives, we're surrounded by wires, pipes, utility poles, cell phone towers, and a myriad of other infrastructure that facilitate almost everything we do. Even though these systems are essential, when was the last time you gave them much thought? Not only is infrastructur...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
May 11th 2010
by Rodale Books
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Infrastructure is interesting, but what really caught my eye about On the Grid was its focus on Raleigh, the city where I live.
The book is organized in chapters about subjects like water, sewage, power, trash collection, road construction, and telecommunications. There's some general facts about each topic, tidbits of its history, and specific examples of how these things work here in Raleigh. The author interviewed and observed numerous local workers, and he presented a good range o...more
The book is organized in chapters about subjects like water, sewage, power, trash collection, road construction, and telecommunications. There's some general facts about each topic, tidbits of its history, and specific examples of how these things work here in Raleigh. The author interviewed and observed numerous local workers, and he presented a good range o...more
This morning I woke up early to get some quality time on the internet only to find out it wasn't working. That seems to be happening more and more to us in our household, requiring us to re-boot our LAN/router doo-hickey and hope it starts working again. But while I waited, I went ahead and finished up the reading of Scott Huler's "On the Grid."
I think of myself as a pretty average suburban home owner who takes the city's infrastructure for granted. I assume that when I tu...more
I think of myself as a pretty average suburban home owner who takes the city's infrastructure for granted. I assume that when I tu...more
The author describes water, sewer, electrical, natural gas, communications and transportation technology as found around Raleigh, North Carolina.
Huler, after an introduction describing the great Garbarge Disposal that occurred in Raleigh in 2008, begins with dividing up the ground controversy itself via surveying. To my surprise, somewhat traditional survey methods are still in use, in part for legal reasons. He then moves on to the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS), the col
...more
By pure coincidence I started this book just before Hurricane Irene descended on the East Coast and reminded me personally how much we depend on our infrastructure, as I lost power, including internet, for almost 24 hours, lost my landline phone service for many hours, and talked to friends who also lost access to their water.
I readOn the Grid because I had discovered the author serendipitously at the Virginia book Festival several years ago, when he was on a panel with another author I W...more
I readOn the Grid because I had discovered the author serendipitously at the Virginia book Festival several years ago, when he was on a panel with another author I W...more
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I liked this book because I have, well, an odd fascination with plumbing, electricity, and how things work. Also, the book is about the infrastructure of Raleigh, North Carolina, my hometown. That's why it gets three stars instead of two. Despite my interest in the subject matter, I almost put it down because the editing of the first few chapters is ATROCIOUS, and bad editing makes me insane. Someone definitely was in a hurry to get this to press. The chapters about water and sewer are the ...more
On the Grid should be required reading for everyone who lives "on the grid" (i.e. all of us) and especially for those who want to minimize or abolish taxes. Do you know what happens to your sewage, or how your drinking water gets to you? Neither did I. This engaging, readable book is chock-full of fascinating information about all the infrastructure we take for granted. Did it ever occur to you that where water is a scarce resource, disposable diapers might actually be a more envir...more
Have you always wondered where the stuff you flush down your toilet goes? Well, you should -- it's pretty fascinating. Do you know who is in charge of your nuclear plant? Or why your backyard floods? Scott Huler asks these questions about his own neighborhood in Raleigh, NC, and gets a lot of great answers from the engineers and other heroes who run the city. This book should be required reading for anyone before they purchase a house. The best aspect of Huler's book is how he lets the men and w...more
This review is from an advanced copy.
In 2003 I was living in Michigan when the power went out at my office. Little did I know at that time that a large swath of the northeast region had lost their power as well. That was my first personal experience with a mass blackout that was not weather related.
Since that time I have often thought about the infrastructure that makes our world work. Scott Huler has written a book that answers many of those questions. On the Grid is a tel...more
In 2003 I was living in Michigan when the power went out at my office. Little did I know at that time that a large swath of the northeast region had lost their power as well. That was my first personal experience with a mass blackout that was not weather related.
Since that time I have often thought about the infrastructure that makes our world work. Scott Huler has written a book that answers many of those questions. On the Grid is a tel...more
This was really stupid. Promised "an in-depth look at infrastructure," but delivered one man's inane tale of puttering around Raleigh, NC, examining drainage ditches and power lines. Full of boring anecdotes about conversations between the author and various engineers and city administrators which were presented as breathtakingly insightful but were actually pretty much exactly what you'd expect. Not very informative; while it did provide some light coverage of some topics I didn't kno...more
Insightful exploration into the history and function of municipal infrastructure. You know, roads, electricity/natural gas/telephone/cable/internet grids, drinking water, sewage, stormwater, solid waste, and public transportation (busses, passenger rail, airports). The author argues that most people are ignorant of the how and why of these systems (until there is a snafu), which fuels blind calls for lower property, etc. taxes.
Lots of interesting historical side-notes. Who knew that ...more
Lots of interesting historical side-notes. Who knew that ...more
This was really interesting. Huler takes a look at our infrastructure, which most of us tend to ignore, and tells us how it works, why it is the way it is, and why we should care about it. The book is a love song to engineers, who quietly make sure we have clean water, electricity, television, and good roads. Huler lives in Raleigh, NC and uses his hometown as an example. Those who run Raleigh's public works seemed more than happy to talk to him and he shows them a lot of love and respect in ret...more
Liking it so far, but god. Where is the copy editor? A 'civic' engineer? Surely you mean civil engineer. The prologue and the first chapter are pretty bad, the others seem better -- scrutinized.
Read past the first two chapters. The proof-reading and the copy-editing does get better, although there are still eye-rolling moments. And the bit about nuclear power obviously wasn't read by anyone with a high-school physics class under their belt, since the alpha particles "go fa...more
Read past the first two chapters. The proof-reading and the copy-editing does get better, although there are still eye-rolling moments. And the bit about nuclear power obviously wasn't read by anyone with a high-school physics class under their belt, since the alpha particles "go fa...more
Huler really breaks down the basics of infrastructure for the beginner, and does a good job of covering both the range of utilities and public transit. Some of his descriptions and asides are quirky and humorous, though he uses the em dash just a little too much. At first, I was skeptical of his using Raleigh as a microcosm for the infrastructure of a typical city, but he uses it well to give a frame around the many different aspects of infrastructure that we are likely to encounter in a typical...more
As an early adult I was fascinated with the Sim City game, creating cities over and over from the ground up, tearing thing down, re-doing the electrical lines and water....I became obsessed with finding the best way to hook my city up with all the utilities and roads. Scott Huler went a thousand time further to investigate these real life things and how they operate. The result is a jackpot of information about the things the majority of us take for granted. It's light enough, informative enough...more
This was a topic on which you do not see much written. The author reviews the various infrastructures that we use daily and never give any thought. He tells us the history of how they were used initially and how they developed into what we see today. For instance, how the original telephone deveoped through the years to the high speed internet services that we now use. A very interesting book!
I received this book for free as a GoodReads First Read. I found the topic to be interesting overall, but the book itself was a little heavy on measurements, statistics, and numbers that did not have as much context as I needed for them to have much meaning to me. Considering that this book was written for the 'average person,' it was a little more technical and therefore drier than I would have expected. I did enjoy learning more about the infrastructure that surrounds me. The author seemed...more
A lot of this information was fascinating to me -- the sort of stuff that you wonder from time to time, but never bother to find out. (Ex: What exactly do all those letters and numbers on the airport runways mean? Why are those guys spray-painting my road with white symbols here and orange symbols there?)
I didn't enjoy some of the writing as much. I felt like, in order to avoid coming across as a know-it-all, the author sometimes played a little *too* dumb. To me, that's nearly as pa...more
I didn't enjoy some of the writing as much. I felt like, in order to avoid coming across as a know-it-all, the author sometimes played a little *too* dumb. To me, that's nearly as pa...more
Tackles a subject most people know little about, but rely on every day. It strikes a decent balance of providering enough detail without getting (too) dry.
I have a major gripe for the publishers - this book was edited very poorly. Lots of typos, and a couple of sentences that made no sense, until you realized that they contained half a sentence that should have been deleted.
I have a major gripe for the publishers - this book was edited very poorly. Lots of typos, and a couple of sentences that made no sense, until you realized that they contained half a sentence that should have been deleted.
Oh my, I do love a good infrastructure book. Making it 10 times better is that he lives in and writes about Raleigh, NC - right next door to home.
The author just spoke at the 2011 NCLA Conference (That's North Carolina Libary Association), and I wish he woulda been selling these - I'd buy one and have him sign like a rock star!
The author just spoke at the 2011 NCLA Conference (That's North Carolina Libary Association), and I wish he woulda been selling these - I'd buy one and have him sign like a rock star!
Very interesting look at all the infrastructure which we take for granted. I liked the personal, at-home slant the author used as he traveled around his hometown of Raleigh, NC investigating the roads and rails; water, sewer and gas pipes; and electrical, telephone and cable wires which feed his home. He gives the histories of each system as they relate to Raleigh, but also as they relate to the wider world, the whole grid which supplies all of us.
I really enjoyed this book and the in-depth look at exactly how all the systems work that keep our homes running at "normal." It got slow in a couple of spots, but most books do for me! :)
Karla Kitalong
is currently reading it
I've only read the first ten pages, but already found two typos--one minor and one major. I'll keep going, because the ideas seem interesting, but bad editing is among my pet peeves.
Really interesting...if you're a geek (which everyone should be). Close to home subject matter, but well written with enough detail to mean something to all - and accurate across the board.
very interesting look at how the utilities in our world work.
Won this through the First Reads giveaway. It looks interesting!
A fascinating, layperson look at the intricate infrastructure all around us that we horribly, embarassingly take for granted every day. As Huler says on the last page, "People persist in believing that these systems will somehow maintain themselves, expand themselves, improve themselves without anybody having to put anything in. But we can keep this remarkable infrastructure, this eighth wonder of the world, only if we're willing to work together for it. It's that simple."
This book is fascinating, and my daughter agrees because she keeps borrowing it from me and citing interesting facts about our infrastructure. My favorite part is the chapter about communication--telegraphs, radio, TV, the internet, etc though the section where he was hiking around inside huge underground water pipes, looking up at cars through the manholes was exciting too. Anyone living in Raleigh should really love this book--he generalizes the information and history, but his explorations a...more
Very interesting look at the infrastructure of our world. Capably combines laymen and technical information.
This book is well-written but I found it to be a bit boring. This book was on the list of books to read at the Chick-fil-a Leadership Seminar. You will like this book if you find the topic of the infrastructure (such as the pipelines of where your drinking water comes from, etc.) interesting.
This is like a PBS show. Interesting, but very dry. Woodenly written. Description of all the infrastructure in Raleigh, from electrical, to water, to sewer, to internet, phones, roads, gas etc; with some history of each. It is fascinating stuff made mildly interesting, with a plea at the end (which I liked) that we should support our engineers and our taxes, without which our rotting infrastructure wouldn't exist at all, and who are desperately necessary to repair it.
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Scott Huler was born in 1959 in Cleveland and raised in that city's eastern suburbs. He graduated from Washington University in 1981; he was made a member of Phi Beta Kappa because of the breadth of his studies, and that breadth has been a signature of his writing work. He has written on everything from the death penalty to bikini waxing, from NASCAR racing to the stealth bomber, for such newspape...more
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