Concrete : from the ground up / Larissa Theule ; illustrated by Steve Light.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A stylish, eye-opening, utterly engaging, and often wry look at one of the marvels of the material world, from the ground up.


From a lowly mixture of stone, sand, water, and cement have sprung sidewalks, streets, and skyscrapers, sturdy lighthouses and magnificent palaces, long bridges and massive dams. In ancient building practices, in modern engineering, and in the architecture of the future, humble concrete plays a mighty role in the creation of the human-made world. Brimming with facts and spiced with clever running narrative in the form of repartee-filled speech bubbles, Concrete is as intimate and entertaining as it is informative and visually sweeping. Curious readers of all ages--from would-be engineers to science and history buffs to retro-design lovers--will delight in this bold, one-of-a-kind guide to the (literal) bedrock of civilization, amplified by a bibliography in the back matter.