The Way Things Work: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Technology in 2 Volumes (1967)

by C. Van Amerongen

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How are matches made? Why is dry cleaning called dry? How does a speedometer work? Why can the heat of an iron be regulated? What makes a ship float? Why does a zipper zip? Diagrams and drawings accompany a page of explanatory text for each of the 1071 entries which explain the principles of why things work. Many of the explanations are beyond the understanding of elementary school students, but the answers to many of their inquiries as to how things work are to be found easily by the curious boy or girl. Much more comprehensive in scope than Mann's How Things Work (Crowell, 1960) but not as useful for the general reader.… (more)

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My copy of this book is nearly 50 years old. Things, at least most of them, don’t work that way anymore. If I have a grandchild who’s deeply interested in technology, I’ll look for a 21st century book.

muumi | Jul 11, 2021 |

German ed. (1963) published as Wie funktioniert das? English translation and adaptation first publ. by George Allen & Unwin (London), as The universal encyclopedia of machinesPopular Science Book Club edition? (

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ME_Dictionary | Mar 19, 2020 |

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New York Times bestseller (General – 1968)

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Canonical title

The Way Things Work: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Technology

The Way Things Work: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Technology in 2 Volumes

Original title

Wie funktioniert das?

Alternative titles

The Way Things Work: The Universal Encyclopedia of Machines

Original publication date

1967

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Please do not combine with-
How Things Work by the National Geographic Society, ISBNs: 0870444255, 0870444301
or
the Special ed. for young people edited by T. Lodewijk, ISBN: 0671652125
or
How Things Work, a Simon and Schuster question and answer book by Ardley and Bampton, ISBNs: 0671498975, 0671499920
or
Encyclopedia Britanica's How Things Work - Fascinating Facts, ISBN: 1561733210
or
Worldbook's How Things Work in the Childcraft How and Why series, ISBNs: 0716601974, 0716601583, 0716601826, 0716601850, 0716601885, 0716601729, 071662219X, 0716622289
or
How Things Work by Parker, et. al., ISBNs: 0760727295, 0679809082, 0679909087, 0862725739, 0760727295, 0755000226, 0752540785, 1842369903, 8487227449, 1422215504, 0752566180, 0752557165, 075500079X, 0862725739, 1856972976, 0862725739, 0760727295, 9620822366
or
Time Life Books' How Things Work: a child't first library of learning, ISBNs: 0809448734, 0809448742

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How are matches made? Why is dry cleaning called dry? How does a speedometer work? Why can the heat of an iron be regulated? What makes a ship float? Why does a zipper zip? Diagrams and drawings accompany a page of explanatory text for each of the 1071 entries which explain the principles of why things work. Many of the explanations are beyond the understanding of elementary school students, but the answers to many of their inquiries as to how things work are to be found easily by the curious boy or girl. Much more comprehensive in scope than Mann's How Things Work (Crowell, 1960) but not as useful for the general reader.

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