Friday, December 30, 2016

Book Nook: ENGINEERING: An Illustrated History from Ancient Craft to Modern Technology

Over 350,000 copies have been sold worldwide of the Ponderables Series – and I recently had a chance to review the seventh, ENGINEERING: An Illustrated History from Ancient Craft to Modern Technology.



I like the format of the Ponderables™ series - each story about an invention relates the "ponderable," the problem that inspired the invention. It helps bring history to life in a fun way. Inventions include boat, icehouse, steam engine, satellites, and much more. Each invention has detailed images and diagrams to help the reader understand more about the objects.



It's written by renowned science writer Tom Jackson, who has the ability to be accurate and knowledgeable, while still writing a book that is interesting for adults but able to be understood by upper elementary students as well. Both my science-minded daughter and my engineer brother really enjoyed this book.


The history of engineering is also the history of civilization. The book is organized in chronological order to help readers see the ways science and engineering shape our world, and the technological contributions (as well as rise and fall) of a variety of historical civilizations.

ENGINEERING includes a 24-page removable fold-out concertina neatly housed at the back of the book: a 12-page Timeline History of Engineering on one-side and 12 pages of Engineering Marvels that demonstrate what happens when construction and engineering meet great design and innovation—on the other side innovation—on the other side.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tom Jackson is a science author based in the United Kingdom. Tom specializes in recasting science and technology into lively historical narratives. After almost 20 years of writing, Tom has uncovered a wealth of stories that help create new ways to enjoy learning about science. He studied at the University of Bristol, and still lives in that city with his wife and three children.

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