The information age is upon us, baffling us with thousands of complicated state-of-the-art technologies. To help make sense of the computer age, David Macaulay brings us The New Way Things Work. This completely updated and expanded edition describes twelve new machines and includes more than seventy new pages detailing the latest innovations. With an entirely new section that guides us through the complicated world of digital machinery, where masses of electronic information can be squeezed onto a single tiny microchip, this revised edition embraces all of the newest developments, from cars to watches. Each scientific principle is brilliantly explained--with the help of a charming, if rather slow-witted, woolly mammoth.
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"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
From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up-The popular "guide to the workings of machines" (Houghton, 1988) has been updated to include the digital world. Of the 80 new pages advertised on the cover, 60 are found in the added section on computer technology. Very few items (parking meters and bicycle brakes) have disappeared into obsolescence, a few new ones have appeared (camcorders and airbags), and cosmetic changes are evident throughout in the enhanced color printing. The features that made the first edition a publishing phenomenon remain. Macaulay's clear and comprehensible drawings are accompanied by Neil Ardley's explanations, and in this edition the technical writer gets credit for his expertise on the title page. The bemused woolly mammoth of the original edition continues to demonstrate his prehistorically simple ideas on such concepts as heat, pressure, fire fighting, sending messages, etc., adding whimsical entries to entertain browsers. While much of the material remains unaltered, the significance of computer technology in our world makes this new edition a vital update or new purchase.
Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By _
Format:Hardcover
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By F. L. Busch
Format:Hardcover
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!
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great way to learn about how things work
From levers to lasers, windmills to web sites, this book is definitively a visual guide to the world of machines. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Canadianladybug
5.0 out of 5 stars
When I was a child...
..I was given this book (the first edition) and it transformed and informed my curious mind. I believe it has much to do with my fascination of mechanics and technology. Read more
Published on Feb 15 2011 by N. Stanley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, but not for the very young
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. Read more
Published on Jan 30 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
This answered many of my child's questions
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. Read more
Published on Dec 9 2001 by Marcus Price
4.0 out of 5 stars
Daddy, how does this work? Daddy, how is this made?
I have a very inquisitive daughter. Enough to have me pulling my hair out! I bought this book to keep me sane. This book should be on your child's bookshelf. Read more
Published on Sep 24 2001 by Bobby Nickells
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE NEW WAY THINGS WORK is the Best!
I enjoy this book because it shows things in a different and
fun perspective. I even like the way it describes the digital domain. Read more
fun perspective. I even like the way it describes the digital domain. Read more
Published on Sep 6 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Macaulay does it again.
This is an excellent gift book for sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school at the looking for a college stage. Read more
Published on July 30 2001 by Nancy Moran
2.0 out of 5 stars
what about the girls?
does not focus on girls, i hated this book,
Published on Jun 26 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Gift For Kids
This book is an excellant gift for a curious elementary aged child. This book easily explains the way many common household items work with the author's use of his great... Read more
Published on July 16 2000 by "skapunkbluesjazzrock"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good damn mamooth!
good book for the school kids,and surely good present for their birthdays.after reading this book,iam not able to just pass away small things,i just stop and wonder how it works. Read more
Published on Jan 19 2000 by vetrivel
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