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From: ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Request for a recommendation.
Date: 3 Oct 2024 17:24:09 GMT
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In article <d6htfj9rvuu0mj2b939ig3h42dglmto8rg@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person  <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On Wed, 2 Oct 2024 17:35:46 -0400, Tony Nance <tnusenet17@gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On 10/2/24 10:33 AM, William Hyde wrote:
>>> 
>>> I am looking for a book which will interest a 12 year old kid who is 
>>> fascinated by things mechanical.
>>> 
>>> The kind of kid who used to take clocks apart and put them back together 
>>> still working (when that was possible), build a telescope or put 
>>> together a radio, that sort of thing.
>>> 
>>> I remember seeing such a book and wishing I'd had it when I was twelve 
>>> myself, but I don't recall the name or author.
>>> 
>>> As for myself, that clock never worked again, so I'm not much of a 
>>> mentor here.
>>> 
>>> William Hyde
>>
>>My son is an engineer, and 4 of my nieces/nephews are also engineers, 
>>and when they were young, every one of them loved the book "The Way 
>>Things Work" by David Macaulay. I'm just a math guy, but I enjoyed 
>>flipping through it as well.
>>
>>In looking for that title, I see he has also written a second book 
>>called "The New Way Things Work". I am unfamiliar with that book.
>
>Judging from
><https://www.amazon.com/New-Way-Things-Work/dp/0395938473#:~:text=To%20help%20make%20sense%20of%20the%20computer%20age,%20David%20Macaulay>,
>it adds 12 new machines -- including digital machinery.
>
>Well, digital computers as of 1998, anyway. But basics are basics,
>after all.
>
>It may also have updates on items discussed in the original (cars and
>watches are mentioned, and surely they were in the original).
>
>It is being advertised as an updated version of the original, not a
>second volume in a series.
>
>Some might be interested in a price inversion: the paperback costs
>/more/ than the hardcover.
>
>And here we have
><https://www.amazon.com/Way-Things-Work-Now-dp-0544824385/dp/0544824385/ref=dp_ob_title_bk>,
>a new version dated 2023.
>
>It apparently extends the tech to touchscreens and 3D printers. No
>doubt other recently introduced items are there as well.
>
>Continuing the price-inversion tradition, the Kindle edition (unless
>you belong to KindleUnlimited) costs more than the hardcover.
>
>The original from 1988
><https://www.amazon.com/Way-Things-Work-David-Macaulay/dp/0395428572/ref=pd_bxgy_d_sccl_2/142-6944350-7921335?pd_rd_w=BUSrl&content-id=amzn1.sym.f7fa8b58-6436-47b8-8741-9e90c231669e&pf_rd_p=f7fa8b58-6436-47b8-8741-9e90c231669e&pf_rd_r=YHW81NGTD74KVZB0R9QT&pd_rd_wg=wmYbJ&pd_rd_r=2fefd4c5-6629-437f-ae7a-31f560538b43&pd_rd_i=0395428572&psc=1>
>also has the hardcover costing less than the paperback.
>
>Also in the same tradition of price inversion is
><https://www.amazon.com/Way-Things-Work-Kit/dp/078946506X/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=>
>with 12 models and a CD-ROM to explore machines in (I presume) a
>hands-on manner.
>
>This makes me wonder: are Hardcover books falling out of favor to the
>point that Paperbacks (presumably Trade Paperbacks) command a premium?


I had mentioned Alfred Powell Morgan upthread, and I see that several
of his books are on Gutenberg:

https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a52269

Home-made Toy Motors by Alfred Powell Morgan
	https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64046

The Boy Electrician by Alfred Powell Morgan
	https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63207

Home-made Electrical Apparatus by Alfred Powell Morgan
	https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63878

Model Flying Machines by Alfred Powell Morgan
	https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64296

How To Build A 20-Foot Bi-Plane Glider by Alfred Powell Morgan
	https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63077

None of the "Radio" books though.
-- 
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..