Inventions

This book is targeted at the upper Elementary school kids, probably with an emphasis on the boys who tend to prefer non-fiction books as opposed to story-books. My 8 yr old son was very intrigued the second he set eyes on it and rapaciously tore through it. Once he was done, I finally got to take a look. The topic of "Inventions" could have been easily left vague and the book, with its excellent CG graphics would still be wonderful. But I really appreciated the way the author approached the subject. A definitive line was drawn and explained between inventions and discoveries. Once the light was focused on true inventions, this book looks at how inventions have evolved, from the invention of the wheel and how it has evolved to a very clear explanation of the World Wide Web. The inventions reviewed are: The Wheel Sails Clocks Windmills Printing Presses Telescopes Engines Cameras Trains Music Players Power Stations Telephones Submarines Automobiles Airships Airplanes Radio and TV Computers Rockets Surgery Locks and Keys Bionics Internet As you can see, the topics are varied and hold at least a little something for everyone. The sections are short so you don't get bogged down in any one topic but detailed enough to give you a good taste. Computer generated graphics provide enlightening cutaways and interior looks into the items being discussed. Some of the graphics are a little "video-gamish" in appearance but that doesn't really detract at all from what is being presented. I sat down and read the book through from front to back but it could be used very easily as a reference book on the individual topics themselves with the over-arching concept of inventions linking them all together. Every Elementary classroom should have a copy of this book. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book is part of a larger series of books covering such topics as Dinosaurs (of course), the Human Body, Space, and Volcanoes. I would love to have this whole collection! Well worth the price listed on the back, though the whole collection would end up a little pricey.

This is a photo and illustration-heavy book for curious kids. I ordered it on the chance that my eleven year old daughter would find it interesting, and she did. I'm under 50, but I already find myself telling her stories about what various technologies were like when I was a kid. This book does that in pictures. The book tells the story of various inventions from historical times to the present, with their original invention date. For example, the telephone page features an 1837 telegraph, 1876 Bell's experimental telephone, 1890 candlestick telephone, 1919 rotary dial telephone, and 1978 cell phone. Feature illustrations on the page show call routing, an undersea submarine cable, and an exploded view of a modern cell phone. The best way to explore this book is to read it together with a child, and tie the illustrations into personal experiences. For example, on the music player page there are illustrations of Edison's phonograph, which recorded on wax cylinders. I told my daughter how proud my dad had been of his antique cylinder phonograph when I was a kid. Then we looked at the cassette player, CD player and digital audio player together. She talked about the evolution she is seeing from CDs to her iPod. For us, other favorite pages were the camera, telescope and printing press. For the camera and telescope, my daughter was able to draw on her experience with the a digital camera, and for the telescope, with Google Earth and its new space, moon and Mars photos. For the printing press, we talked about how desktop publishing and now the internet has changed publishing even more. My recommendation: use this book as a starting point for discussions on how the inventions are still evolving, and ask your child where they think technology will lead us next. you may be surprised by the answer. Overall rating: Very well done, delivers very on its promise. 5 stars.

INVENTIONS was the complete package. It is a beautifully illustrated book with just enough information about various life changing inventions to let the reader understand the basic principles and how the inventions are utilized by humanity. Each invention featured was not overly discussed and analyzed with minutia that could have lost some readers (especially younger readers) but therein lay the true beauty of this book: it inspired me to want to learn more about each invention. This is the perfect book for anyone of any age with an interest in science or a curiosity of how things work. It is the perfect gift for young children because it speaks on a level of which anyone can relate. Reading this book reminded me of one of my favorite books in grade school: The Way Things Work simply because of the graphical concept, ease of reading, the feeling of empowerment to know something special, and the desire to learn more. Is that not something that should be on every child's bookshelf? If you are looking to stimulate the mind of your child or are looking for a way to spend quality time in an educational setting with your child, this is a perfect tool for initiating those moments and those conversations. My only reservation about this book is that I felt adding to the introduction a brief overview of simple machines (i.e. lever, pulley, wheel, etc.) was necessary and would have been a great way to explain how machinery works on the fundamental level. Throughout INVENTIONS the author makes note of simple machines, but not in a way that transpires the individual invention on that page. Inventions covered in this book include: the wheel, sail, clock, windmill, printing press, telescope, engine, camera, train, music player, power station, telephone, submarine, automobile, airship, airplane, radio and TV, computer, rockets, surgery, locks and keys, bionics, and the internet. This book should be on every child's bookshelf for the pure educational and entertainment functions it serves. The only book I have read that is better in these areas is The Way Things Work, by David Macaulay. Good reading, J.Stoner

As a scientist, I found this very well written and edited indeed. It is evident there is a level of competent scholarship and research. The graphics are good and clear and pages are not overly cluttered with information, with none of those text bubbles with silly arrows you see in many illustrated books. Having said that, the various topics are not treated in depth, so this book is not meant to be comprehensive. Rather, this book will stimulate the imagination and curiosity of middle to high school students who have an interest in science (yes, there are still kids like that out there!). At various points, I found myself wanting more from the topics. For example, in the telescope page, the Hale scope with the Cassegrain optics might have benefited from a little side bar graphic on various optical configurations for telescopes (e.g. refractors, cassegrains, Newtonians, Maks, SCTs, etc), but no biggie there. I found myself disappointed when I reached the end of this short book. I really wanted more! All in all, a very good effort and a great book.

I am very impressed with the quality of this book -both in its very high quality illustrations and in the concise and accurate information that it contains. The blurb on the back cover says that the book has state of the art 3-D illustrations. The illustrations are striking and very well done. They come as close to 3 dimensional as an illustration on a flat page can without using Magic Eye or holograms! The illustrations actually remind me of some of the very well done graphics in computer games. The book is well laid out - starting with a time line of inventions and then devoting two pages to each milestone invention from history. A small sampling includes : The Wheel, the Sail, the clock, The printing press, the telescope, the power station, the submarine, the airship, computer, Bionics and the inernet. I know that the budding scientist in my house is going to be absolutely fascinated by this book and will have his nose buried in the 3 D illustrations for the next few days at least! Highly recommended!