Not even close to nearly complete, this oversized browsers' book nevertheless presents a huge smorgasbord of human invention, with histories of the earth and of life as hors d'oeuvres. Arranged in spreads, each with four strips of small full-color illustrations over four- or five-line running captions, there's something for almost everyone: dinosaurs, homes and other buildings, clothing (over a hundred tiny figures, sporting animal skins to denim), weapons, means of communication, medical and manufacturing techniques, and page after page of ground, air, and space vehicles. A biographical index rounds on the volume. Conventional depictions and points of view give the art a drably functional look that doesn't measure up in visual impact to works such as the Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries, and though Platt (Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections: Castle, 1994, etc.) injects a little wit (``In the beginning a journey meant two things, both of them feet''), his bits of fact and historical context soon begin to wear. The cheeky title and breadth of coverage give this an immediate appeal that is also likely to be ephemeral. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 20, 1995
ISBN: 0-7894-0206-8
Page Count: 76
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
From the oldest maps in the world, to mapping the earth and other planets from space, Johnson (Ferrets, 1997, etc.) introduces the world of cartography using an outstanding collection of full-color period prints and contemporary photographs. Included is a map carved on a clay tablet made in 500 b.c. in Babylonia; a road map for a.d. 1200; a world map made in a.d. 1482; using information recorded by Ptolemy in a.d. 150; a sea, or portalan chart from a.d. 1489; maps of the New World made by Spanish mapmakers around a.d. 1500; and many more. Johnson discusses the first modern atlas as well as the Mercator projection, and introduces new ways of mapping using satellites and instruments for remote sensing involving radio signals, microwaves, and computer imaging. Accessible, beautiful, and informative, this is essential for most collections. (bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-81813-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This slim collection of actual writings of American girls from colonial times to the mid-20th century contains some real gems that are sure to inspire readers to learn more about history. Their first insight will be that girls who lived long ago weren’t really that different from their modern counterparts. They played games and played jokes on one another, were interested in boys, knew that their teachers and parents didn’t understand them, were picked on by big brothers and sisters, and worried about what the future held for them. Some of the entries are funny, some serious, but all are informative and entertaining, augmented by the co- authors’ introductory notes for every entry and black-and-white photographs of the spirited and spunky girls who wrote such wonderful descriptions of their lives. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-82083-6
Page Count: 103
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
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