Smithsonian: Timelines of Science by DK Publishing

Smithsonian: Timelines of Science is a visual guide to "history of science and inventions". It starts with fire and progresses through time to the internet. It's packed with information and covers all branches of science from astronomy to technology.

I really liked this book, but I admit the massive amounts of information it contained was a little intimidating at first. It's not really the kind of book that I could or world read cover to cover. That would be overwhelming. Instead, it's the kind that I could leave on the coffee table so that I (or my guests) can dip into it from time to time. The gorgeous cover featuring the Vitruvian Man is terrific. It definitely draws me in, but it's the extensive content within the book that keeps me coming back for more.

I love that the book presented information in a variety of ways. There are interesting articles, quotes, side bars that highlight some of the information, as well as small annotated photographs and diagrams scattered throughout.

The main part of the book are the timelines. For each of the timelines, an accompanying article explains what happened during that time frame using text and photographs/diagrams/illustrations. While the articles are informative, I think the information is a little squished. There's too much packed into a small space with very little white space. I would have preferred some headings for the separate ideas, instead of just some highlighted words or phrases.

In addition to the timelines, the book also features many key events or discoveries. There are at least three types of 2-page spreads on a particular topic: The Story of...; Understanding...; other. Each of them is well presented and nicely laid out. I especially love the ones that teach basic concepts (like evolution, stars, and DNA), and the ones with tons of labelled photographs.

I have mixed feelings about all of the sciences being presented on one timeline. In one way it's good because I can see what else was happening in the world when a particular discovery was made. However, there's just too much information to wade through. If I want to learn about astronomy for example, I have to sift through lots of other stuff to get to it.

There's a reference section near the back of the book that will delight true science nerds. The 6 parts feature: measurements and units, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and space, as well as earth science. The sections are filled with laws, equations, symbols and the like. To me, it looked like stuff I was supposed to memorize or learn in my high school science classes. To be honest, I found it interesting, but my eyes sort of glazed over after awhile.

That section is followed by who's who in science featuring brief biographies. It's sort of like a glossary of people. It's really cool.

The book also contains a table of contents, which is presented chronologically, a glossary, and index, both of which are massive. In the index, two of the pages are printed out of order, so it might be a bit confusing for readers at first. Hopefully, this will be corrected in the next printing.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Smithsonian: Timelines of Science DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2013. ISBN 9781465414342(Hardcover), 400p.

100 People Who Made History by Ben Gilliland

100 People Who Made History features people who helped shape the world. They come from many different walks of life and includes explorers, inventors, leaders, artists, and much more.

I loved this book! It's filled with so many fascinating people. There were many that I recognized: Marco Polo, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Aristotle, Joan of Arc, Walt Disney, and Elvis Presley, to name a few. Even though these names were familiar I didn't know everything the book had to say about them. There were also many people that I didn't recognize: Dmitri Mendeleev (created the first version of the Periodic Table), Cai Lun (invented paper), Mary Seacole (pioneering nurse), Saladin (Muslim leader who retook the Holy Land), David Ogilvy (the father of modern advertising). I found each and every one of them interesting.

The book is divided into categories: Daring Discoverers, Inspirational Inventors, Thoughtful Thinkers, Leading Leaders, and Clued-up Creatives. The author presented the information in a couple of different formats. Some people took up one page, some 2 pages, while others were condensed so that several appeared on one page.

One of my favourite parts if the "All About Me" section, which features year of birth and death, nationality, interesting factoid (claim to fame), and a brief summary. I liked it because it gave me a brief snapshot of the person before I read more about them. This was particularly helpful for those I was unfamiliar with. I would have liked it if the author included this information for each of the figures in the book. Unfortunately, that didn't happened.

The other two parts that I enjoyed were "He couldn't have done it without...", which showed the person's forefathers and their contributions, and "He paved the way for...", which showed those who came after him in his field. These people benefitted from the work that had already been done. I liked these two sections because it gave me some perspective on the person's work and put it into context.

I also liked that the book contained some more modern figures like, Jobs and Wozniak, Zuckerberg, and Nelson Mandela. Having said that, I enjoyed reading about all of the figures in the book, both historical and more contemporary.

Two pages at the back of the book are dedicated to more people who have made contributions, but didn't quite make the top 100 list. These include: Noah Webster, Sacajawea, Helen Keller, Tommy Douglas, Gloria Steinem, Terry Fox, and many others.

The book also includes a table of contents, a glossary, and an index.

Highly recommended. It's written for younger readers (7-12 year olds), but older readers might also enjoyed this one provided they don't need a lot of information on each person.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

100 People Who Made History by Ben Gulliland, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2012. ISBN 9780756690038(Hardcover), 128p.

The Incredible Pop-Up Body Book by Richard Walker

The Incredible Pop-Up Body Book features a full-size pop-up poster of the human body. It also covers a variety of subjects all dealing with the human body.

I like this book. Besides the poster, the book tackles a few interesting topics: the cells, the heart, respiration, digestion (appropriately called "From Taste to Waste"), reproduction, seeing and hearing, bones and muscles, and disease defenses. All of these are beautifully illustrated and annotated with labels and side bars.

The back of the book features a full-size pop-up body poster. Several of the items "pop-up" when the poster is unfolded. These include:
• rib cage with the lungs, heart, and diaphragm underneath
• moveable arms that reveal bones
• moveable lower leg that shows muscular details and flips up to reveal bones
• foldable intestines that reveal kidneys and pelvic bones, arteries, and veins

The poster itself is well labelled and contains lots of additional information about the body and the featured parts. It's relatively pretty well made with heavy-weight poster stock and should last quite a long time providing that extra care is taken when folding and unfolding the sections.

The back of the poster is loaded with additional information on the main body systems: respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, muscular, and skeletal.

Although I enjoyed the book, I admit I was a little disappointed with it. Instead of one large pop-up, I expected (and probably would have preferred) several smaller ones. While the poster is amazing, it is a little hard, actually make that impossible, to unfold it while sitting in a chair reading. It's just too large and unwieldy. You actually have to put the book on a large hard surface (a table or the floor) to unfold the poster. Additionally, I think it might be too cumbersome for younger readers and or those who are refolding-challenged. I still think it's pretty cool, though.

The book has an adequate table of contents, a pretty good glossary, and an extensive index for a book this size.

Recommended. All and all there's a lot of information packed into this relatively short book.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

The Incredible Pop-Up Body Book by Richard Walker, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2011. ISBN 9780756686963(Hardcover), 28p.

The Complete Classical Music Guide by DK Publishing

The Complete Classical Music Guide explains the terms used in Classical music, discusses the music and instruments of each period and gives details of the lives and works of almost 300 composers. It's "the essential listener's guide to more than a thousand years of western Classical music".

I loved this book! This gorgeous book is one of the most beautifully presented books I've ever seen. It's simple, yet very elegant. The book itself is white with gold lettering; clean and crisp. It's encased in a protective three-sided box shaped like a grand piano top.    

The inside of the book is no less beautiful. It's nicely laid out, has small, but relevant photographs, and is jam-packed with tons of information about Classical music. The sections are colour-coded and are laid out in interesting and appealing ways. The instrument photographs are labelled and annotated. A few of them are a little small, though.

The book starts off with a terrific introduction that features the basics of music, the instruments and performances before launching into the history of Classical music. The history part is broken down into different musical periods: early music, Baroque, Classical, etc. Each of these sections starts off with an introduction before getting into the major players of the era. There are also sections on opera and the national schools grouped by nationality rather than style.

I loved all of the information on the composers. Some of it was basic: birth and death dates, nationality, number of published works and milestones in their career. For the more well-known or more accomplished composers, there was also information on their key works and influences.  Some of these span many pages.

Some of the information presented was familiar to me as I used to attend the symphony quite frequently. I also used to study/play the flute (strictly as a hobby, no performances). Even though there was stuff I already knew, the books also contained lots of information that was new-to-me. I learned so much about the different composers and musical elements.

My favourite musical period is Baroque, although I do like a few composers from the Classical period. I loved reading about Vivaldi, Bach and Handel, but also found a bunch of less-known-to-me composers that I'm going to check out.

The book contains some wonderful quotes about the artists or spoken by the artists themselves. Here are a few of my favourite quotes:

We cannot despair about mankind knowing that Mozart was a man. (Albert Einstein, page 110)

Keep your eye on him; one day he will make the world talk of him. (Mozart, on hearing the 17-year-old Beethoven, page 114)

After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own. (Oscar Wilde, page 132)

It is unnecessary for music to make people think...it would be enough if it made them listen. (Claude Debussy, page 234)

The table of contents is a bit sparse. It only lists the major sections. I quite enjoyed reading over the glossary, which explains some of the terms used in Classical music. The index is extensive and should be very helpful in locating items in the book. It lists the composers, their well-known works and lots more.

Highly recommended. It's a classical music lover's dream. It's beautiful enough to leave out on the coffee table rather than hidden away on a shelf. If you have a classical music fan in your circle of family and friends, this would make a terrific Christmas gift.

The book was previously published as Eyewitness Companions: Classical Music.

For more information about this book, please visit DK's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at DK Canada for this review copy.

The Complete Classical Music Guide by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2012. ISBN 9780756682568(Hardcover with hard protective cover), 352p.