The Way Things Work

When we first saw the original German version of THE UNIVERSAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MACHINES it seemed the answer to the modern man’s prayer: a guide and an encyclopedia that explained modern technology in terms that anyone could understand. It spans the field from simple, everyday mechanical items like ballpoint pens to complex processes like colour television. The English version has become an institution and a best-seller of which nearly one million copies have been sold here and in the United States.

Now with a second volume, THE WAY THINGS WORK, we can answer twice as many questions from our children (and settle twice as many of our own puzzles). The arrangement is the same: each double-page spread is devoted to one particular item. On the right-hand side is a diagram or series of diagrams in red and black (or, when necessary in many colours), labelled neatly and clearly. Facing it, on the left-hand side, is the descriptive text. There is an excellent index, leading you to anything from gears to the advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactor. The key to enjoying THE WAY THINGS WORK is to browse for pleasure, using the list of Contents. When you have something specific to look up, use the index. But there is more to it than this. As Lord Ritchie-Calder says in his Introduction, “if this and its preceding volume were just expanded glossaries of gadgets, they might suffice for a quiz game of ‘Ask me another’. But this encyclopedia is designed to be more than that — it deals with principles and is grouped in subjects so that the picture of technology emerges and embraces the items”. And “‘it is simple without being condescending”. Uniform with this volume: THE UNIVERSAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MATHEMATICS In preparation: THE WAY THINGS WORK BOOK OF THE COMPUTER