An accessible reference offers a panoramic perspective on scientific inventions that reflect the human race's efforts to understand and master the universe, sharing chronological and geocultural coverage of ten distinct eras.
This volume from the National Geographic Society consists of an illustrated time line of scientific achievements around the world from prehistory to the present day. Each chronological chapter contains a profile of the era, color overview time lines of innovations, key historic events, and specific time lines of innovations by continent, in astronomy and math, biology and medicine, the physical sciences, and engineering and invention, including fire, water power, tools, and cultivating crops. In addition, picture essays on topics such as writing and numbers, Roman engineering, Chinese and Arabic sciences, printing, guns, the steam engine, railroads, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, genetics, germs and disease, electricity, the automobile, synthetic drugs, radio, television, antibiotics, nuclear fission, computers, DNA, global warming, and the internet are included. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
From the ancient conquest of fire and the first turn of a wheel to the latest in scientific leaps toward the stars, this easy-access history offers a panoramic perspective on humankind’s restless quest for the laws, theories, and tools by which we can grasp and master our universe.
This concise, concentrated, consistently organized look at our species’ key scientific and innovative achievements spans all human history, presenting ten distinct eras from the first glimmers of intelligence to the cutting-edge technologies of the modern world. Within these intuitive divisions, all human scientific endeavors and achievement are divided into four general fields of inquiry and arrayed into four basic geocultural regions for easy comparison in a logical, systematic grid format highlighted by 350 photographs, maps, illustrations, and diagrams that add graphic emphasis to key information. Special two-page feature spreads explore the most revolutionary developments in greater depth; compelling, expertly composed essays and memorable quotations add sparkle; and informative sidebars provide specifically focused items of information about particular inventions, ideas, or themes. Completing this comprehensive approach, an extensive glossary explains unfamiliar terms, and a detailed index makes it a simple matter to follow a particular field or process from its origin through its complete cross-cultural evolution. This is a reference as usefully accessible as it is inherently fascinating.
