Cool Stuff and How It Works

This was bought as a Christmas gift for my 9-year-old son and it has been a big hit. The book is big and colorful and has great photo layouts of the "insides" of all kinds of neat devices. The photos and captions explain how the devices work. If you have a child who is always asking "How do they do that?" or "How does that work?" then this book is a great choice.

Kids are surrounded by technology these days, but unfortunately fewer and fewer of them appear to know how their gadgets or the world around them works. This book is a good introduction, even if it is a bit lightweight. There's a mix of ordinary things like electric shavers and guitars, the somewhat exotic like fiber optics and things mostly on the drawing board like fuel-cell cars. In all, more than 90 objects, processes and technologies are described. The explanations are all essentially superficial and profusely illustrated. It's enough to get a young person interested and perhaps move them along to considering learning more about technology. Jerry

I bought this book for my high school students to read in their free time. It is one of their favorite books.

Through the use of cutaways and exploded views pictures reveal the internal workings of objects and explain various layers and how elements are assembled. This provides fascinating explanations of objects that may otherwise remain a mystery. No need to take apart your MP3 player, you can see inside the player on page 71. There is an explanation of how MP3 compression works along with a 3-D graph. There are six main chapters: Connect: Microchips, cell phones, fiber optics, digital radio, voice recognition, satellite, Internet... Play: Soccer, fabric, cameras, games, guitars, compact discs, MP3 Players, headphones, Fireworks... Live: Light bulbs, mirrors, solar cells, microwaves, aerogel, shavers, washing machines and robots. Move: Motorcycles, cars, wheelchairs, jet engines, navigation, space probes, elevators, wind tunnels and space shuttles. Work: Digital pens, laptops, virtual keyboards, laser printer, smart cards, robot worker, fire suits, radio ID tag, glue and wet welding. Survive: Laser surgery, robot surgery, MRI scan, pacemaker, cells, vaccination and antibiotics You may enjoy reading about how fireworks explode and why they display various colors. The pet translator helps you to find out if your dogs barking indicates needy, happy or assertive behavior. Virtual keyboards make using a PDA much easier now that you can type on any flat space. One of the most fascinating DK books in print. A must have for every library and school, not to mention home library. ~The Rebecca Review

From iPods to medicine, washing machines to motorized wheelchairs, and scanners to flash sticks, the latest modern technological innovations are reviewed in a vivid survey of the science behind the invention. The latest devices present in our daily lives, from solar cells and microwaves to compact discs, are surveyed in a lively, photo-packed chapters which include plenty of colorful visual powers, diagrams, cut-aways and scientific detail to intrigue grades 6-9.