The Way Things Work: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Amazing World of Technology

By Chris Oxlade

The book charts the history and development behind these major discoveries and introduces the remarkable minds who conceived them. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0754815048
• ISBN13: 9780754815044
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Lorenz Books
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 3.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.5" x 7.2"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A children's treasury of technical information

We have several books on how things work and The Way Things Work stands out from the crowd. On the title page the book is summarized as "a fact-filled encyclopedia and project book with over 1,600 photographs, illustrations, cutaways and diagrams." The book doesn't set out to show how everything works--it has concentrated its efforts on topics that loom large in the imagination of curious children. There are photos--enough to transmit information about the subject at hand, but not too many to confuse or dilute the topic of interest. The illustrations are technical and interesting but, unfortunately, for the adults that find this art engaging, they are often small and do not convey significant technical information. For the intended audience the number and size of the illustrations is sufficient to fuel imaginative thinking and may inspire more drawings than a single refrigerator door can display. It should be noted that Chris Oxlade is the contributing editor and this book is a compilation of the work of several individuals, with some sections authored by Chris Oxlade. The many sections are evenly edited and the book has a consistent flow and layout. There are many aspects of this book that reminded me of a multi-volume encyclopedia I had as a child on the subject of science and how it works. The authors of The Way Things Work have distilled the subject matter to an essential core work filling one volume that has a pleasing heft and feel. The most surprising aspect of this book are the projects. Parents will turn to its pages for ideas on upcoming science projects. Teachers might find inspiration for demonstrations or hands-on activities for science class. On the shelf of a young child I can see many opportunities for rainy day activities that are achievable using items that are readily available. I would recommend this book for children ages 5 to 10 years old. Parents with younger children will find that this book is readable in a parent-child setting. The text is concise and is not chopped and interrupted by distracting sidebars and trivia that tends to confuse rather than enrich young minds. The layout is clear and the pictures interesting. Between reading sessions young children will find many things to look at and think about, even if the text is above their reading level. We also own David Macaulay's The New Way Things Work. I would wholeheartedly recommend Chris Oxlade's The Way Things Work over David Macaulay's book for the younger age group or as a first introduction to books that show how things work. As your child begins to see and understand the concepts presented in The Way Things Work, David Macaulay's book will become more accessible and interesting.