Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries

August 2, 2004
This fact-filled compendium will delight students with a passion for science and technology, no matter what their age. Covering the history of humanity in five parts, from the ancient world to the present, Carlisle, a professor emeritus at Rutgers and an authority on the history of technology, explains the origins of objects as common as the ballpoint pen and as complex as the periodic table of elements. There are surprises to be found: for instance, while we associate the invention of the arch with the Romans, Carlisle says pre-Roman arches have been found in Egypt. On a less serious note, while the origin of the word"whisky" is Gaelic ("uisge"), distilled liquors probably existed as far back as 800 B.C. in China. Illustrations, summary tables (such as chronologies) and sidebars with pungent quotes from historical sources enrich the readable text.

July 26, 2004
This fact-filled compendium will delight students with a passion for science and technology, no matter what their age. Covering the history of humanity in five parts, from the ancient world to the present, Carlisle, a professor emeritus at Rutgers and an authority on the history of technology, explains the origins of objects as common as the ballpoint pen and as complex as the periodic table of elements. There are surprises to be found: for instance, while we associate the invention of the arch with the Romans, Carlisle says pre-Roman arches have been found in Egypt. On a less serious note, while the origin of the word"whisky" is Gaelic ("uisge"), distilled liquors probably existed as far back as 800 B.C. in China. Illustrations, summary tables (such as chronologies) and sidebars with pungent quotes from historical sources enrich the readable text.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2004
Despite excluding night baseball and sliced bread, Carlisle's collection of the most important inventions includes the items that come immediately to mind, from beer to stainless steel. Formally arranged as an encyclopedia divided into six historical periods, the 418 inventions and 100 discoveries about nature are more a browser's trove suited to readers keen on the history of technology. That genre has been strikingly vibrant in the past decade, during which many of the devices Carlisle selects have received book-length examination, for example the copy machine (see " Copies in Seconds " by David Owen, p.1885). Carlisle, a university professor, strives to impart a general appreciation for the widest trends of technological progress, pausing at junctures such as the decline of the Roman Empire to discuss the state of humanity's tool kit. The entries themselves are compact, studded with boldface references to other inventions that highlight how most innovations are dependent on a previous one. For libraries updating their history-of-technology collection. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)