Invention

This superb collection of specially commissioned photographs presents the whole range of human inventions – from flint tools and wooden wheels to telephones and computers.From primitive tools to practical energy-saving devices like the simple but ingenious wheel, gears, pulleys, and levers, the book charts the development of weights and measures, writing implements, early timepieces, and navigational aids. Optical instruments like the microscope and telescope are featured, as well as a model windmill and an internal combustion engine sliced through to show the mechanisms inside. Finally there are the inventions that have revolutionized the modern era – from telephones and radios to television and plastics.Produced in association with the Science Museum, London, Invention is a unique and fascinating introduction to the amazing variety and ingenuity of inventions, both ancient and modern.