A World of Discovery

This lively read about technology is illustrated by lots of charts and diagrams. One thing I noted in the section on the computer chip credited John Bardeen and Walter Brattain as the inventor of the transistor but left out William Shockley! Is this an attempt to rewrite history? For his central role in its invention Shockley was named the creator of the electronic age (See Shurkin; Broken Genius on Amazon). His sin was he accepted the only evidence for human evolution for 150 years, namely the existence of what was then regarded as inferior people groups, such as Peking Man, Rhodesian Man, Java Man, Neanderthals, Solo man, and modern Africans, all which are now recognized as fully human. The world changed and now these people are no longer seen as evidence of evolution. Thus, those who accepted the old view were now regarded as outcasts! Most of the greatest men in the past had their flaws, and to write their contributions from the history books is a mistake. I hope to see this corrected.

A World of Discovery is a beautifully illustrated and informative book; definitely a must-read for anyone interested in science. The sections (two pages each) are informative and engaging, without the intimidating wall-of-text feel many other non-fiction books have. Half of each section is taken up by one of Brown’s lovely illustrations (I love the minimalist color palette), which are punctuated by additional information. The inventions focused on range all the way from the compass to artificial intelligence. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning something new with the added benefit of great illustrations.Reviewed by Masha K, 14, Boston Mensa

I adore this book, the graphics are beautiful and it’s a good read for my engineering obsessed son

Wonderful book great design clear illustration and good learning for all ages including mums

Brilliant reading for kids and adults !!

Awesome book, that’s educational too — our 8 year old loves it!

It's worth ........ 5 * * * * *