The New Way Things Work

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Contributor : Neil Ardley

Product Details

Author : David Macaulay
Binding : Hardcover
EAN : 9780395938478
Edition : 1
Number of Pages : 400
Product Group : Book
Publication Date : 1998-09-28
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin, Walter Lorraine Books
Reading Level : Young Adult
UPC : 046442938471

ASIN : 0395938473

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Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.com

"Is it a fact--or have I dreamt it--that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?" If you, like Nathaniel Hawthorne, are kept up at night wondering about how things work--from electricity to can openers--then you and your favorite kids shouldn't be a moment longer without David Macaulay's The New Way Things Work. The award-winning author-illustrator--a former architect and junior high school teacher--is perfectly poised to be the Great Explainer of the whirrings and whizzings of the world of machines, a talent that landed the 1988 version of The Way Things Work on the New York Times bestsellers list for 50 weeks. Grouping machines together by the principles that govern their actions rather than by their uses, Macaulay helps us understand in a heavily visual, humorous, unerringly precise way what gadgets such as a toilet, a carburetor, and a fire extinguisher have in common.

The New Way Things Work boasts a richly illustrated 80-page section that wrenches us all (including the curious, bumbling wooly mammoth who ambles along with the reader) into the digital age of modems, digital cameras, compact disks, bits, and bytes. Readers can glory in gears in "The Mechanics of Movement," investigate flying in "Harnessing the Elements," demystify the sound of music in "Working with Waves," marvel at magnetism in "Electricity & Automation," and examine e-mail in "The Digital Domain." An illustrated survey of significant inventions closes the book, along with a glossary of technical terms, and an index. What possible link could there be between zippers and plows, dentist drills and windmills? Parking meters and meat grinders, jumbo jets and jackhammers, remote control and rockets, electric guitars and egg beaters? Macaulay demystifies them all. (Click to see a sample spread of this book, illustrations and text copyright 1998 David Macaulay, Neil Ardley, published by Houghton Mifflin Co.) (All ages) --Karin Snelson

Customer Reviews

An Absolute Need for Every Household (2004-07-11)

Few books can compare to "The Way Things Work" in the amount which they can teach the curious. Be they old or young, college educated engineers or preschoolers, everyone can pick something out of this book. Trust me; I've seen it from all ends.

When I was six, I loved the mammoths...and learned about simple machines and airplane wings. When I was in high school, I appreciated the mammoths' wit...and learned about automatic transmissions and transistors. Now that I'm in college, I've read the whole thing, and it's still a great reference book, just as entertaining and informative as it was so many years ago. And the mammoths are still funny.

For kids with insatiable curiosity, "The Way Things Work" can be a great and entertaining resource; for everyone who's ever wondered how their car drives, or why their computer works, or how satellite communications happen, it can be an immensely satisfying read.

Good book, but not for the very young (2003-01-30)

I bought this book for a boy of the age of 8. He didn't seem very interested in the text explanations of how things work. Perhaps he's a little young, but like other reviewers said, this is a book that can most definately be put on the shelf for several years and still have relevance when a few years of knowledge is gained.

The New Way Things Work (2002-08-30)

This is the best book for childern and adults I have ever read. I recieved "The Way Things Work" When I was in 4th grade. Now I have this newer version. My classmates and I both used it during my College Mechanical Engineering Classes. Everyone can learn from this book it is not just for kids but really belongs on every childs bookshelf.

BUY THIS BOOK! (2002-07-09)

My god, this has to be one of my favorite books. When I was a kid, I was FASCINATED (well, I still am) by mechanical things. I must have checked this book out of the library twenty times, and it never got old. It is PACKED with info, the drawings are great, and it is very educational. Well, I was at the library today checking out books for a mechanical engineering class, and there it was on the shelf. I checked it out again for old times sake, and here I am at Amazon.com (to buy my very own copy of course), writing a reveiew. Nuff said. Anyway, if you have a child, boy or girl, old or young, smart or not, it doesn't matter- this book ROCKS!

This answered many of my child's questions (2001-12-10)

If you have a child with 10,000,000 questions on how things work, buy this book! This explains it better than any book I have found on the subject. It has even enlightened me. For more, buy the book titled HOW DO THEY DO THAT? by Caroline Sutton. This author has a series of books.

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