 Trade In this Item for up to £1.65
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Way Things Work for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.65, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
What really makes the things around us tick? Did you know that the principle behind the zip fastener also governed the building of the pyramids? Or that the dentist's drill is a direct descendant of the first windmill? The inner workings of hundreds of machines and devices are explained in this fun, colourful and unique look at technology through time.
About the Author
David Macaulay's book 'The Way Things Work', first published in 1998, had huge success winning numerous awards including The Times Education Senior Supplement Senior Information Book Award. Born in the UK. David now lives in Boston.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My older daughter (now 18) loved this book when younger and so I wanted to buy a copy for my seven year old this year, only to find it had gone out of print. I was then able to pre order this reprint on amazon and in the meantime borrowed a copy from my library. My son is really interested in building k.nex, lego technic etc and any books that are NOT fiction so he loved this!
The book is very thick and comprehensive and I don't think he really understands a lot of it - but he enjoys looking at the drawings and having sections read to him and dsicussing what is happening.
I think he is at the youngest age range of interest for this book - I think it would be more appreciated by 10-12 year olds and adults! (I have certainly learnt a lot from it). The book expalins how various machines and technology work. It covers simple levers first and moves on to more complex machines such as the combustion engine, electrical circuits, Tv's and rockets. The book has no photos it relies on delicately coloured line drawings and plans which work really well. A mammoth is often used in a section of the page to explain a principle (although my son is not keen on this). Each page is quite crowded with drawings and information - so it is really aimed at an older audience I think, it is also very thick so he has to look at it while lying on the ground.
I remember when first published (8-10 years ago??) it was a huge hit and you could buy a cd rom and project kit to make simple machines - sadly you can't now but the BBC when it still made morning TV education shows made a very nice cartoon series based on the book also called the way things work - which takes the mammoth storyline and has a herd on a little island populated by a village of people and explains the principles behind simple machines in ten minute episodes which is very suitable for young kids. My older children used to watch it and I found amazon can supply a DVD of the series on two discs. I ordered it and my son has really enjoyed watching them - I think it suits his age better than the book, but I am sure the book will be on his shelf for many years to come and be consulted hundreds of times.
The book is very thick and comprehensive and I don't think he really understands a lot of it - but he enjoys looking at the drawings and having sections read to him and dsicussing what is happening.
I think he is at the youngest age range of interest for this book - I think it would be more appreciated by 10-12 year olds and adults! (I have certainly learnt a lot from it). The book expalins how various machines and technology work. It covers simple levers first and moves on to more complex machines such as the combustion engine, electrical circuits, Tv's and rockets. The book has no photos it relies on delicately coloured line drawings and plans which work really well. A mammoth is often used in a section of the page to explain a principle (although my son is not keen on this). Each page is quite crowded with drawings and information - so it is really aimed at an older audience I think, it is also very thick so he has to look at it while lying on the ground.
I remember when first published (8-10 years ago??) it was a huge hit and you could buy a cd rom and project kit to make simple machines - sadly you can't now but the BBC when it still made morning TV education shows made a very nice cartoon series based on the book also called the way things work - which takes the mammoth storyline and has a herd on a little island populated by a village of people and explains the principles behind simple machines in ten minute episodes which is very suitable for young kids. My older children used to watch it and I found amazon can supply a DVD of the series on two discs. I ordered it and my son has really enjoyed watching them - I think it suits his age better than the book, but I am sure the book will be on his shelf for many years to come and be consulted hundreds of times.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A lovely and informative book great for young and old i'd say, especially those who feel 'science anxiety' whenever someone uses scientific words for example.
Format:Paperback
When I was very young, this was my favourite book. Even before I could properly understand what was being explained I loved the art style and the detail in the pictures. Once I was old enough to understand it I discovered it all over again, and was even more enthralled with it.
Fast forward fifteen years or so, and now I'm an engineer - thanks, I think, in no small part to this book. If/when I have kids, there'll be a copy of this waiting for them to understand it too.
Fast forward fifteen years or so, and now I'm an engineer - thanks, I think, in no small part to this book. If/when I have kids, there'll be a copy of this waiting for them to understand it too.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
This book gave me my fascination with all things mechanical
I first saw this book back in primary school, in the late 80s/early 90s and used to read bits of it every lunchtime. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ed
Learning is cool!
Even I enjoyed this book (I'm 40-ish,ish,ish) If you've got kids with an iota of curiosity you couldn't do better than this. Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by campermum
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
