Discusses the invention of six simple machines in various ancient civilizations from the Stone Age to the fall of the Roman Empire.

"This rollicking ride into machine history follows the innovators, entrepreneurs, and hucksters who transformed our world with farm machines of all colors. Starting with the turn-of-the-century visionaries who saw that four wheels and a motor could replace for the horse, the book moves swiftly through key early developments to cover the power farming movement of the latter part of the 20th century- a time when major manufacturers lagged and independent...

Look inside, take it apart, turn it over, and figure out how things work! Quippy descriptions, full-color diagrams, and brilliant photographs make even the most intimidating subjects completely accessible--and totally fun! (We're looking at you, space robots.) For every explanation, we touch on basic principles and then dive deeper. Just want to know what terraforming is? We've got you covered. Want to know how to terraform, say, Mars? We'll explain...

"An engaging and far-reaching exploration of refrigeration, tracing its evolution from scientific mystery to globe-spanning infrastructure, and an essential investigation into how it has remade our entire relationship with food-for better and for worse. How often do we open the fridge or peer into the freezer with the expectation that we'll find something fresh and ready to eat? It's an everyday act, easily taken for granted, but just a century ago,...