Summarizes 100 notable inventions and discoveries of ancient and modern times, from 3,000,000 B.C. to the beginning of the twenty-first century A.D.

Discusses the history of inventions and the inventors from 3500 B.C. to the present, including the hand axe, mathematics, IC chips, and lasers.

Brief factual stories about how various familiar things were invented, many by accident, from animal crackers to the zipper.

The writer of the New York Times Magazine' s popular "Who Made That?" column explains how better ideas enter the world, revealing the fabled "ah-a" moment to be the result of a series of steps anyone can apply to solve the problems we encounter in everyday life.

"Materials science, wedged as it is between the ... fields of chemistry and physics, teaches us that everything in our world is due to the interactions of atoms. If you can find out how they interact to make up the physical world, then you can also change the way that atoms act to make them do new things and, as we develop new materials, we discover that materials and humans are constantly being molded by each other. [This book] shows how materials...

Draws upon photographs, illustrations, and other resources of the Library of Congress to present information on some of the great inventions of history, such as the airplane and telephone, and discusses how they led the way to new industries and discoveries.