Product Description

Here is an introduction to the great inventors of the world. Bursting with facts, serious and comic, the book describes the lives and work of more than fifty major innovators, with delightful illustrated references to hundreds more. A 'timeline' provides a glimpse into the lives and times of each of the inventors. Spanning a period of thousands of years - from the unknown man or woman who invented the wheel, to the research teams at work today on space technology or on Virtual Reality - Gillian Clements' book is a celebration of the ingenuity of people throughout history. Includes separate timelines on each spread and a glossary explaining all of the terms used in the book with diagrams and easy to follow language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #396842 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Clements's ( The Illustrated History of the World ) concise yet conversational text and accurate drawings focus on some 60 inventions that have greatly influenced civilization, at the same time spotlighting hundreds of other intriguing discoveries and events. Evidence of the author's fastidious research fills this paper-over-board volume's colorful spreads, each of which is packed with informative sidebars, spot art (much of it accompanied by humorous asides) and an illustrated timeline that helps place the inventions in historical context. After offering an overview of ancient and medieval inventors, Clements zeroes in on key individuals, including Johannes Gutenberg, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Theodore Maiman. An introductory note acknowledges that--due to incomplete historical records and "limited opportunities in the past for some people"--"many major inventions are associated with European men"; Clements, however, includes notes on the work of selected women and minority members. Her edifying book concludes with an extensive illustrated glossary. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-What readers really get here (and never mind the all-inclusive title) is a look at inventors who were male, white, and residing in Europe or America. Once they get over that bump in the road, they'll find an inquisitive trundle through time, from Archimedes (the Archimedes screw) to Theodore Maiman (the laser). While some biographical data is imparted, along with a look at the famous innovation, more fun can be had (and tons of trivia acquired) via the tiny vignettes at the side and bottom of each page. Those at the sides give other technological developments that occurred at about the same time as the featured invention (Charles Goodyear's vulcanized rubber and Chubb's "new" safe share space with Morse's telegraph, for example). The items at the bottom present other "happenings": again, using Morse as an example, readers learn that there was a huge meteor shower in 1833, and that Sir Isaac Pitman devised shorthand in 1837. So, willy-nilly, children discover that sterling inventions did not happen in a vacuum; that everyone and everything was tootling along, watching meteors, overheating rubber, and struggling with shorthand. Double-page spreads on "Earliest Inventions" and "Medieval Inventions" indicate there (at least) was an Egypt and a Far East. Obviously, this is no in-depth examination suitable for serious research. However, as a way of providing a smattering of information, and giving one food for future thought, this is an approachable, enjoyable title.
Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ingram
A decade-by-decade picture catalog with more than eight hundred drawings, including everything from raincoats to radios, features nearly fifty major inventors and provides dozens of little-known facts about inventions by women and African Americans.