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REVIEW How Things Work Today Price: £25 Ever wondered how a digital camera works? Where does Silicon come from? Just what is going on when satellites orbit our planet? Well, here's a reference book with all the answers. Many older children - and parents - will find How Things Work Today a very useful and informative read. Packed with over 700 colour photographs and illustrations it sets out to explain over 400 technological and scientific subjects. |
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| The scope of the book is enormous. It covers everything from mudane everyday subjects like washing machines to the complexities of the Space Shuttle. | |
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How Things Work Today is based on the monthly column from Scientific American magazine and compiled by two professional technical writers Michael Wright and M. N. Patel. The editors have divided the book into six sections: The Urban and Domestic Environment, Communications and Leisure, Transportation, Crime and Security, Power and Industry and Medicine and Research. |
| The design brief has clearly been very focused with this large format publication. Each subject is dealt with individually on two pages with annotated diagrams illuminating short boxes of text. We particularly liked the lay out of the pages which means that information | |
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is easily accessible. The language used is kept simple and factual and backed up by excellent annotated graphics. The combination of illustrations, captions and explanatory text means there's a lot of 'entry points' where readers can connect with the subject. You can dip in and out of book to research a specific subject, but the design also welcomes flipping the pages to have a browse and see what catches your attention. There's a comprehensive index at the back, plus a listing of useful Internet addresses. At the back of the book there's also a section on 'Principles' where subjects such as Mechanics, Electronics and Light are explained. We felt that this important theory section was more academic and possibly rather text heavy for younger readers when compared with the clarity of the rest of the book. However, it does serve to give |
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readers a grounding in the theory of pure and applied science … and of course if it gets confusing you can just flip back and look at all the pictures. Parents Online Verdict Not cheap, but packed with information on modern science and technology and an excellent reference book for all the family. |
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