An engaging tour of the inspirations behind a host of marvelous inventions.
MacLeod and Wishinsky investigate the genesis of 33 ingenious inventions.
Some of the inventions here came about as the result of an accident—the Popsicle, for example, or the microwave oven—but most were the result of seeing the possibilities once presented with a situation. That takes knowledge, as this book emphasizes, along with paying attention, making connections, taking your time, persistence, avoiding assumptions, and being open to failure. Each invention, from friction matches to folding beds, penicillin, high-dose radiation, the electronic feeding device, Teflon, corn flakes, and windshield wipers—for starters—is accompanied by photos and images of the inventor and their invention. A good half of those celebrated in these pages are women, and there is a decent sampling of different races and nationalities. Explaining the mechanics of the inventions is a variable affair. Some are obvious, like the aforementioned Popsicle, while others, such as fiber optics, don’t lend themselves to simple explanations. But no matter how abstruse the invention is, Macleod and Wishinsky make it clear why the invention was important through its everyday application. Pull quotes from such lights as Leonardo da Vinci, George Washington Carver, and Larry Page add interest, as do extra factlets introduced in sidebars; Playford’s illustrations add zip.
An engaging tour of the inspirations behind a host of marvelous inventions. (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1676-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
The author of The Snake Scientist (not reviewed) takes the reader along on another adventure, this time to the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh to the Sundarbans Tiger Preserve in search of man-eating tigers. Beware, he cautions, “Your study subject might be trying to eat you!” The first-person narrative is full of helpful warnings: watch out for the estuarine crocodiles, “the most deadly crocodiles in the world” and the nine different kinds of dangerous sharks, and the poisonous sea snakes, more deadly than the cobra. Interspersed are stories of the people who live in and around the tiger preserve, information on the ecology of the mangrove swamp, myths and legends, and true life accounts of man-eating tigers. (Fortunately, these tigers don’t eat women or children.) The author is clearly on the side of the tigers as she states: “Even if you added up all the people that sick tigers were forced to eat, you wouldn’t get close to the number of tigers killed by people.” She introduces ideas as to why Sundarbans tigers eat so many people, including the theory, “When they attack people, perhaps they are trying to protect the land that they own. And maybe, as the ancient legend says, the tiger really is watching over the forest—for everyone’s benefit.” There are color photographs on every page, showing the landscape, people, and a variety of animals encountered, though glimpses of the tigers are fleeting. The author concludes with some statistics on tigers, information on organizations working to protect them, and a brief bibliography and index. The dramatic cover photo of the tiger will attract readers, and the lively prose will keep them engaged. An appealing science adventure. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-07704-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In no particular order and using no set criteria for his selections, veteran sportscaster Berman pays tribute to an arbitrary gallery of baseball stars—all familiar names and, except for the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, retired from play for decades. Repeatedly taking the stance that statistics are just numbers but then reeling off batting averages, home-run totals, wins (for pitchers) and other data as evidence of greatness, he offers career highlights in a folksy narrative surrounded by photos, side comments and baseball-card–style notes in side boxes. Readers had best come to this with some prior knowledge, since he casually drops terms like “slugging percentage,” “dead ball era” and “barnstorming” without explanation and also presents a notably superficial picture of baseball’s history—placing the sport’s “first half-century” almost entirely in the 1900s, for instance, and condescendingly noting that Jackie Robinson’s skill led Branch Rickey to decide that he “was worthy of becoming the first black player to play in the majors.” The awesome feats of Ruth, Mantle, the Gibsons Bob and Josh, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and the rest are always worth a recap—but this one’s strictly minor league. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-3886-4
Page Count: 138
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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