About the Book
Inventions examines the ideas, machines, and innovations that have shaped the modern age, from the cell-phone revolution to the incredible growth of the information superhighway, the use of robotics in medicine and heavy industry, the propulsion technology that will one day take human beings to Mars, and much more. It's an engaging look at the ongoing development of human evolution and creativity.
Review :
"A slim, colorful overview...Appealing graphics and the inclusion of iPods, computer games and other high-tech gadgets will attract young browsers."
Kirkus Reviews
A slim, colorful overview of inventions in communications, photography, music and transportation, with an even briefer look at future technologies in medicine, genetic engineering, robotics and nanotechnology...the appealing graphics and the inclusion of iPods, computer games and other high-tech gadgets will attract young browsers.
Children's Literature
The cover shows a large image of a Nanorobot with pincer-like claws. Inside, readers find many big, colorful and dramatic photographs. In the chapter on computers, readers see a photograph of a tiny computer chip, which controls an Aquaroid or swimming robot to mimic the behavior of real fish. The chapter on nanotechnology shows a computer-generated vision of Nanorobots swarming on a brain cell. These dramatic images and interesting photographs accompany an organized and readable text. The book is divided into four main chapters, each with many subdivisions. Every chapter ends with a summary page, which includes a half-page, "Go further" segment. This section lists web sites, further reading, related career paths, and a list of interesting places to visit. The "Communication" chapter discusses the telephone, fiber optics, communications satellites, computers, the internet, radio, television, movies and cinema. The "Technology in the Home" chapter discusses electricity and light, photography, camcorders, computer games, and music. The "Transportation" chapter talks about cars, trains, sea vehicles, aviation, and space travel. The last chapter, entitled "New Technology," deals with robotics, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and medical technology. The back matter contains an index and a glossary. This book is part of Kingfisher's "Kingfisher Knowledge" series.
Kirkus Reviews
A slim, colorful overview of inventions in communications, photography, music and transportation, with an even briefer look at future technologies in medicine, genetic engineering, robotics and nanotechnology. As with other titles in the Kingfisher Young Knowledge series, topicsare treated in three to four paragraphs with four or more full-color photos or drawings. Each chapter provides an even briefer summary, suggested websites and a few print sources for more information, as well as a list of related careers. The typical two-page summary on computers introduces the first computer invented by English math genius Charles Babbage (1792-1871), jumps to the electronic digital computer developed in Britain in 1943, then the integrated circuit of the 1960s, and concludes with quantum computers, which would be "faster and more powerful than any machine that we use today." Treatments are too brief to explain how stuff works, and there is no clear timeline, but the appealing graphics and the inclusion of iPods, computer games and other high-tech gadgets will attract young browsers. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-12)
