Mill (by David Macaulay)

Having once read this book, never will you pass an old New England mill without going to take a look at the headrace, or appreciating why it has so many windows, or how come it now houses a software company and a few fancy condos rather than bobbins and spindles.

David Macaulay's architectural drawings have great personality and beauty, and they are models of lucidity. The same can be said for his prose. The combination of illustrations and clear text makes the workings of a power train or a fly-ball governor seem obvious. Macaulay's books are history at its fullest, with threads of architecture, society, economics, politics, and geography all brought together to convey a supple portrait of a time and place.