Product Description
A New York Times Bestseller
Explainer-in-Chief David Macaulay updates the worldwide bestseller
The New Way Things Work to capture the latest developments in the technology that most impacts our lives. Famously packed with information on the inner workings of everything from windmills to Wi-Fi, this extraordinary and humorous book both guides readers through the fundamental principles of machines, and shows how the developments of the past are building the world of tomorrow. This sweepingly revised edition embraces all of the latest developments, from touchscreens to 3D printer. Each scientific principle is brilliantly explained--with the help of a charming, if rather slow-witted, woolly mammoth.
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 explains them all.
From School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up—It's been 28 years since Macaulay's brilliant volume exploded on the scene and 12 since its last updating, and with the technological world quickly evolving, this incarnation is more than welcome. Covering everything from the simplest of machines to the modern microcompressor, Macaulay uses clever illustrations and a lucid (often amusing) text to explain the complex interrelationships of the mechanical world. But it is the illustrations that catch the eye. Yes, the woolly mammoths still galumph through the pages, demonstrating such principles as heat by radiating warmth while acting as a rotund clothes dryer. Small people also potter about, dancing to a record player (yes, still included), pulping wood, and tilting at windmills. Small flutters of angels appear, positioning camshafts and adjusting camera lenses. But these seemingly frivolous drawings focus readers' attention on the matter at hand. "Things," both in the real world and in this book, have changed. The writing is tighter. Color has burst into the illustrations, making the whole hefty tome appear lighter and brighter. Some elements have vanished: the elevator is gone; the escalator remains. Hybrid cars appear while the tape recorder has slipped away, as has the compact disc player. Sections on the computer and robots have been completely redone. A small note: Briticisms are back. The mechanical world is evolving at warp speed, and the solidly printed page cannot keep up. But that is no reason not to embrace this long-awaited update to one of the more original books ever printed. VERDICT A delightful choice for browsing and reference.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Review
Amazon Best Children’s Books of the Year: NonFiction San Francisco Chronicle Best of 2016 New York Times Bestseller
"... long-awaited update to one of the more original books ever printed."
—
School Library Journal
* “Macaulay's brilliantly designed, engagingly informal diagrams and cutaways bring within the grasp of even casual viewers a greater understanding of the technological wonders of both past and present. Necessary for every library, personal or otherwise.”—
Kirkus,
starred review
Praise for
The Way Things Work
“
The Way Things Work is a superb achievement. It is a very handsome book, a fascinating collection of riddles and a sound educational accomplishment that, while explaining in words and pictures - mostly pictures - some of the mysteries of physics, makes you smile, and often laugh. The author is honest enough to say that the book was intended for children of all ages, and brilliant enough to make all its readers feel brighter than they ever thought they could be.”—
The New York Times
“
The Way Things Work is not the only book that has tried to explain modern mysteries, but it's the best. Macaulay's explanations are lucid; they are also fun. He includes visual puns, running jokes, a cast of thousands of tiny participants in on and around the machines, choirs of angels and lots of big woolly mammoths.”—
Boston Globe
“Keep the book a secret from your kids for a while and study up on the explanations of questions you're anticipating. Let Macaulay make you look smarter than you think you are. The kids will certainly be impressed - and you'll be getting a real education in the bargain.”—
The Los Angeles Times
“An astonishing tour-de-force by the architect-turned-author who has given us
Cathedral and
City.” —
Kirkus
“This is a work of mammoth imagination, energy, and humor. It justifies every critic's belief that information and entertainment are not mutually exclusive - good nonfiction is storytelling at its best.” —
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
“Combining the tongue-in-cheek observations of a budding prehistoric engineer with acute descriptions of the functioning of mechanical and electrical machines, Macaulay has produced a superb volume.”—
The Horn Book, starred review
“A book to be treasured as both a browsing item and as a gold mine of reference information.”—
School Library Journal, starred review
About the Author
David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post–Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given “to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.” Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.
I bought this for a 13 year old for christmas. It explains basic laws and principles in a fun and interesting way. I started reading the book before christmas and cold not put it down. It has great art work, and diagrams. I would recommend to anyone who is intrigued by the...
