Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Join the woolly Mammoth for this latest edition of the award-winning guide to machines and technology. David Macaulay's bestselling book takes a colourful look at the nuts, bolts and circuitry of a host of things that whirr, whiz, clunk, buzz and beep! Perfect for anyone who's ever wondered what really makes things tick.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

How in the world can a woolly mammoth (aren't they extinct?) help anyone understand parking meters, cameras, and ultrasound? Simple. By showing the mammoth on the cutting edge of air freight technology, seeing them play on the teeter-totter, and using their trunks as burglar alarms. OK. Down to business. Macaulay has done it again. He has taken four areasmovement, elements, light and sound, and electricity and automationand written about and drawn them in an easy-to-understand way that makes the reader think these things are fun! Wonderful drawings galore, too. Expect high demand for this delightful book that will give persons of any age an elementary introduction to the way things work. Absolutely superb. Patty Miller, New Hampshire Vocational-Technical Coll. Lib., Laconia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4 Up Gorgeous line drawings in Macaulay's familiar style, enhanced with watercolors, combine with virtually encyclopedic coverage of how things work to create this absolutely captivating look at the world's technology. Subjects are arranged into four broad categories: units on mechanical devices (simple machines, friction); the use of the elements (wind, water, heat), waves (light and sound); and electronics include both the immense (space shuttles) and the miniscule (an automobile's thermostat). Information presented is up-to-date (compact discs, breath testers), and the introductions and descriptions are well-written and clear. Whimsical woolly mammoths appear to demonstrate principles, take credit for inventions, and speculate on the causes of their own extinction. The number of devices described here defies enumeration: the thorough index, which lists items under both their own terms and under larger, broad headings (e.g., the term synchromesh is also found under car), contains approximately 900 entries. The two-volume The Way Things Work: Encyclopedia of Modern Technology (S. & S.) offers a competitive number of items in a more straightforward fashion, but it is not as entertaining as Macaulay's work. How Does It Work? (Facts on File, 1976) by Chris Cooper and Jane Insley and How Things Work (National Geographic, 1983) by Donald J. Crump both present excellent photography and diagrams with utilitarian text, but neither covers anywhere near as many devices or competes with Macaulay's creativity. A book to be treasured as both a browsing item and as a gold mine of reference information. Jeffrey A. French, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

In a lively, informative combination of drawings and text, Macaulay ingeniously popularizes the science behind the functioning of everything from cam shafts to computers.

Kirkus Book Review

An astonishing tour-de-force, three years in the making, by the architect-turned-author who has given us Cathedral and City. Here, he turns his talents to describing how things as diverse as parking meters, nail clippers, computers, lightning rods, helicopters, staplers, zippers, etcare constructed, with the principles underlying their operation. Large, clear, complete drawings for each contain unexpected little details, providing hours of enlightenment and discovery. There are four sections--movement, the elements, waves, electricity--with the items in each following the author's own idiosyncratic logic. Virtually nowhere do explanations lapse into vague generalities--indeed, some are specific enough to tax the experts. The sections are introduced by a series of goofy misadventures involving woolly mammoths, which will amuse some and irritate others; but the whole spirit of the book is so lively that most readers will be charmed. The technical text, credited to Nell Ardley, is careful, pedantic, and occasionally awkward; it sometimes lapses into British usage--electrical ""earth"" for ""ground,"" ""silencer"" for ""muffler."" But these are minor flaws in an otherwise grand book. A brief history of technology is included. Glossary, index. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.