Synopses & Reviews
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 12 new machines and includes more than 70 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.
Review
"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
Review
"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
Review
"An astonishing tour-de-force, three years in the making, by the architect-turned-author who has given us Cathedral and City...Large, clear, complete drawings...contain unexpected little details providing hours of enlightenment and discovery." Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
About the Author
David Macaulay is the author and illustrator of many exciting and unusual books for readers of all ages, including the international bestseller The New Way Things Work; Caldecott Medal-winner Black and White, and Caldecott Honor Award-winners Castle and Cathedral; and Building Big, the companion book to the successful PBS Series. Other awards he has received include the Boston GlobeHorn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, the Washington Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, and a Dutch Silver Slate Pencil Award. In 2006 he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given to "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. A graduate of and former teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design, Mr. Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.
Neil Ardley has written more than 100 books on science and technology. His skill at demystifying modern technology and explaining science with simple and exciting activities has made many of his books very popular. A man of diverse interests, Neil Ardley is also an accomplished musician and jazz composer and has produced a number of music books and records. At home in the Peak District, England, Neil Ardley combines writing and music with walking.
Rhianna Walton on PowellsBooks.Blog
Something remarkable is happening. In the chaotic churn of COVID-19, an election year, and the Black Lives Matter movement, more people than ever are buying books online from local and independent bookstores...
Read More»