for those intrigued by the world of engineering and curious about the complexities lying just offstage in our everyday infrastructure, "the hidden life of pipes: renewing our world from the outset" is a must-read. this book offers a pre-explanatory context to the maze of pipes that pass over our heads and beneath our feet, often unnoticed yet vital for our modern existence. it's a fascinating journey into an offstage world, revealing the unseen mechanisms that support our daily lives.