How Things Work & How Products Are Made: A Resource Guide: Books: How Things Are Made

Provides coverage of 30 new household and high-interest products in each biennial set. Alphabetically arranged entries feature step-by-step descriptions of the manufacturing processes behind the products; sidebars including "Words to Know" vocabulary boxes; boxes highlighting interesting information about a particular product; and brief further information lists. New products covered in "Series 3" include anti-shoplifting tags, artificial skin, fake fur, nicotine patch and many more. Additional features include approximately 100 black-and-white photos and 60 technical drawings; a glossary of definitions for manufacturing and other scientific terms; a general bibliography listing resources and organizations to contact for more information; and a general subject/name index cumulating all six volumes in the series.

While focusing mostly on the 20th century, British writers Webb and Suggitt occasionally trace a household product to its mass-production origin in the middle or late 19th century. They draw heavily from museums in the US and Britain. Some of their entries are companies, such as Apple Computer, Betty Crocker, and RCA; others are specific gadgets or types, among them air conditioning, clothes dryers, food processors, jar openers, and radios. The two types are often linked by cross-referencing. The technical glossary does not indicate pronunciation.

This two-volume resource surveys noteworthy achievements in a wide variety of fields during the 20th century. Most of the essays were previously published in Twentieth Century: Great Events (1992, 1996) and Twentieth Century: Great Scientific Achievements (1994), and Great Events from History II: Business and Commerce Series (1994). Arranged alphabetically, they contain a minimum of 1,000 words and discuss 195 inventions ranging from simple gadgets to complex medical breakthroughs. Half the entries are accompanied by sidebars outlining the lives of individuals who played important roles in the invention's development and promotion. Includes a few b&w illustrations