This is one engineer's personal take on what it's like to be a civil engineer in the 21st century - the life, the practice, the profession. As accomplished an essayist as he is an engineer, Mr. Brenner rages from serious discussions of suburban sprawl, bridge aesthetics, and the engineering body of knowledge to comical accounts of packrat habits, quacking moments, and engineering fashion. This highly readable collection of 46 essays is a showcase for Mr. Brenner's distinctive combination of quirky humor and engineering right stuff.