David Macaulay Books in Order
David Macaulay has written 32 books, published between 1973 and 2020. The first book is Cathedral (1973) and the newest is Mammoth Science (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 32
- Published
- 1973–2020
- Pages on record
- 2,318 in 19 of 32 books
- Reading time
- 39–58 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,318 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 19 of 32 titles with a page count on record.
David Macaulay, born 1946, is a British-born American illustrator and writer whose books explain how buildings and machines are made. Cathedral (1973) opens a catalogue of 32 titles, followed by City, Pyramid, Underground and Castle through the 1970s. The Way Things Work (1988) and its revisions, The New Way Things Work (1998) and The Way Things Work Now (2016), form the other long thread. Macaulay took the 1991 Caldecott Medal for Black and White and a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006; Mammoth Science (2020) is the newest title.
How many David Macaulay books are there?
David Macaulay has 32 books, released between 1973 and 2020. They include 2 series and 19 titles listed outside any series.
David Macaulay Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 32 David Macaulay books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11973801/4
- 21974–1/4
- 31975801/4
- 41976–1/4
- 51977–1/4
- 6Great Moments in Architecture1978 · 116 pages · confirmed 1/419781161/4
- 7Motel of the Mysteries1979 · confirmed 1/41979–1/4
- 81979801/4
- 91983–1/4
- 10Baaa1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 11Why the Chicken Crossed the Road1987 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/41987321/4
- 12The Way Things Work1988 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/419883841/4
- 13Black and White1990 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/41990321/4
- 14Ship1993 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/41993961/4
- 15Shortcut1995 · confirmed 1/41995–1/4
- 16Rome Antics1997 · confirmed 1/41997–1/4
- 17The New Way Things Work1998 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/419984001/4
- 1819991121/4
- 19Building Big2000 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/420001921/4
- 20Angelo2002 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/42002481/4
- 212003–1/4
- 22Mammoth Math2007 · confirmed 1/42007–1/4
- 23The Way We Work2008 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/420083521/4
- 24Built to Last2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 252012321/4
- 262012321/4
- 272013281/4
- 282013321/4
- 29How Machines Work: Zoo Break!2015 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/42015301/4
- 30The Way Things Work Now2016 · confirmed 1/42016–1/4
- 31Crossing on Time2019 · confirmed 1/42019–1/4
- 32Mammoth Science2020 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/420201601/4
David Macaulay series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Architecture books in order 9 books
David Macaulay books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
How It Works in order
4 booksStandalone books
19 books19 David Macaulay titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read David Macaulay books in order?
You only need to read David Macaulay books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with David Macaulay
Start with Cathedral (1973), the first Architecture book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest David Macaulay book?
Mammoth Science (2020) is the newest David Macaulay book released so far.
Is there a new David Macaulay book coming?
No next David Macaulay book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards David Macaulay has won
Wikidata records 5 awards and 3 nominations for David Macaulay. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Caldecott Medal1991Wonfor Black and White
- Silver Brush1990Won
- Caldecott Honor1978Wonfor Castle
- Zilveren Griffel1975Won
- Caldecott Honor1974Won
- Caldecott Medal1991Shortlistedfor Black and White
- Caldecott Medal1978Shortlistedfor Castle
- Caldecott Medal1974Shortlisted
David Macaulay at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest David Macaulay title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- David Macaulay books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 2,318 pages across the 19 of 32 books with a recorded length, a median of 80 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most David Macaulay books, 8 of 32, were published in the 2010s.
What the David Macaulay books are about
19 of the 32 David Macaulay books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: juvenile literature is tagged on 12 of 19. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Juvenile literature 12 of 19 books
- Architecture 3 of 19 books
- Children's fiction 3 of 19 books
- Picture books 3 of 19 books
- Technology 3 of 19 books
- Apparatuur 2 of 19 books
- Building 2 of 19 books
- Cathedrals 2 of 19 books
- Gothic Architecture 2 of 19 books
- Inventions 2 of 19 books
- Juvenile Non-Fiction 2 of 19 books
- Long Now Manual for Civilization 2 of 19 books