Way Things Work

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining look at how machines work!
Review: "The Way Things Work" took almost three years to create. A cute and sometimes silly "Great Wooly Mammoth" makes his appearance throughout the book. The facial expressions and animal antics are at times very amusing.

While the "Mammoth" theme is highlighted, this is a book which discusses serious concepts. They are simply explained in a more entertaining way. In between all the facts, you will suddenly find a page which discusses tusk trimming. "I watched with great curiosity a mammoth that was having its tusks trimmed....." Don't worry, as the story progresses, "velocity" is being explained.

Quite frankly, this book is not only a work of art, it is a compilation of genius. When David Macaulay, Niel Ardley, David Burnie, Peter Luff and Christopher Davis put their minds together for a book project, something amazing happens.

Where they came up with the 384 pages is beyond my comprehension. In fact, only taking three years to write and illustrate such a work, is in itself an incredible feat. Truly, this is a comprehensive, instructive and entertaining reference book for readers of all ages.

Life is too short for reading inferior books. - James Bryce This book is superior in so many ways. It is divided into four main sections: The Mechanics of Movement (inclined plane, levers, wheel and axle, gears and belts, cams and cranks, pulleys, screws, rotating wheels, springs, friction), Harnessing The Elements (floating, flying, pressure power, exploiting heat, nuclear power), Working With Waves (light and images, photography, printing, sound and music, telecommunications), Electricity & Automation (electricity, magnetism, sensors and detectors, computers).

Each page is filled with drawings so you can completely comprehend mechanical principles. David Macaulay takes you from levers to lasers and does it all in a most entertaining and efficient manner. Here is a prize-winning author's brilliantly conceived guide to the principles and workings of hundreds of machines.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining look at how machines work!
Review: "The Way Things Work" took almost three years to create. A cute and sometimes silly "Great Wooly Mammoth" makes his appearance throughout the book. The facial expressions and animal antics are at times very amusing.

While the "Mammoth" theme is highlighted, this is a book which discusses serious concepts. They are simply explained in a more entertaining way. In between all the facts, you will suddenly find a page which discusses tusk trimming. "I watched with great curiosity a mammoth that was having its tusks trimmed....." Don't worry, as the story progresses, "velocity" is being explained.

Quite frankly, this book is not only a work of art, it is a compilation of genius. When David Macaulay, Niel Ardley, David Burnie, Peter Luff and Christopher Davis put their minds together for a book project, something amazing happens.

Where they came up with the 384 pages is beyond my comprehension. In fact, only taking three years to write and illustrate such a work, is in itself an incredible feat. Truly, this is a comprehensive, instructive and entertaining reference book for readers of all ages.

Life is too short for reading inferior books. - James Bryce This book is superior in so many ways. It is divided into four main sections: The Mechanics of Movement (inclined plane, levers, wheel and axle, gears and belts, cams and cranks, pulleys, screws, rotating wheels, springs, friction), Harnessing The Elements (floating, flying, pressure power, exploiting heat, nuclear power), Working With Waves (light and images, photography, printing, sound and music, telecommunications), Electricity & Automation (electricity, magnetism, sensors and detectors, computers).

Each page is filled with drawings so you can completely comprehend mechanical principles. David Macaulay takes you from levers to lasers and does it all in a most entertaining and efficient manner. Here is a prize-winning author's brilliantly conceived guide to the principles and workings of hundreds of machines.

Rating:
Summary: A book that belongs in every house with kids.
Review: Anyone with children in their life, or a child-like heart will enjoy this book. It is not just for kids, but it answers many of the questions that only kids think to ask. How do toilets flush, what makes zippers zip, and sewing machines sew? How do seat belts work? What about submarines and airplanes?

The book begins with simple machines and works up to complicated ones. For older children it can be a useful homework reference. But this is more than a reference book.

The drawings and explanations are not only clear, they are entertaining. Throughout the book there is a series of ingenious vignettes describing the interaction of wooly mammoths and machines. Mammoths dressed in hot air balloons. Mammoths functioning as computers (answering questions by dropping the appropriate number of logs, which gets cumbersome.)

The result is a book that can be a marvelous bedtime story or mid-afternoon browsing book, as well as a reference book for those awkward questions. Kids as young as three or four will enjoy some parts of this book, while adults will still be intrigued by some of the explanations.

This is a book for teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles to have on their shelves, both to answer questions and to encourage them.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing! Models don't work!
Review: I have loved David Macaulay's books since I was a kid. Though I've grown up, I am still facinated by his unique way of explaining things we take for granted. The Way Things Work is a road map for today's highly confusing and intimidating technological times. It allows you to gain a glimpse of the wonder of engineering, from the very simple, to the most complex.

Rating:
Summary: They don't Work
Review: The book is interesting & I was really excited about the models & getting a chance to make things work. But, they did not Work! The biggest disapointment was the motor, I connected all the wires & made all the contacts properly & nothing happened. The wheels woobled on the dowels & when I attached the baloon to power the car with air, it turned over instead of moving forward. I tried very hard to make things work, but they did not.

Rating:
Summary: My review on The Way Things Work
Review: The Way Things Work explains how ordinary and unordinary objects work. For example you would never think that a fission bomb would implod before it exploded or that a red piece of paper is red because it reflects cyan and yellow light. It gives detailed explanation of the forces and energies used in that device. It also gives fictional stories about how that energy and/or force could be used.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Is Great!
Review: This book gives a great overview of how simple and complicated mechanical devices work. It really helped me for school projects, and is just a fun book to read. It's a great book for kids and adults alike, if you buy it you won't regret it. Two thumbs up!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing! Models don't work!
Review: We find Macaulay's books intriguing and so proceeded to order the kit for our 11 year old daughter. She loves science, does experiments on her own at home, elects to attend science camps every summer, and wants to be an engineer. She found the instruction cards attractive and easy to follow BUT "half the things didn't work" and "it was boring". She was extremely disappointed with the kit as she painstakingly followed instructions, and attempted to troubleshoot and adapt the models when she found they wouldn't work. My husband and I are an electrical engineer and a physician respectively, and we too were unable to shed any light on the problems she was having. We definitely would advise parents NOT to buy this kit.

Rating:
Summary: great idea but very poor execution
Review: When snow struck and my two boys were out with a snow day I gave them this kit and they loved it! It kept them busy for hours and saved my sanity. They had such fun that they didn't want to go back to school.