Scrapheap Challenge 4

Books

Chambers Materials Science and Technology Dictionary edited by Peter Walker (Chambers, 1993) £14.99

Descriptions, definition panels and line drawings combine to clarify the terms. Includes common equations, brief explanations of technical terms and tables of properties and units. Covers all kinds of materials, processes and properties.

The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2000 Years edited by John Brockman (Phoenix Press, March 2001) £7.99

Showcase for more than 100 responses to the question, 'What is the most important invention of the past 2000 years?' from the salon of scientists Brockman hosts on his website. Contributions from Richard Dawkins, the neuroscientist Colin Blakemore and others.

Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors Volume 1 by Franklin Day Jones (Industrial Press, 1940) £24.99

Contains designs and drawings that can be implemented immediately, including tripping or stop mechanisms, reversing mechanisms and speed-changing mechanisms.

Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors Volume 2 by Franklin Day Jones (Industrial Press, 1941) £24.99

Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors Volume 3 by Franklin Day Jones (Industrial Press, 1951) £24.99

Local Heroes by Adam Hart-Davis and Paul Bader (Sutton Publishing, 1999) £7.99

Book accompanying the BBC television programme in which Adam Hart-Davis celebrates the diversity of British genius.

Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz (McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1999) £29.99

Illustrated book intended for the hobbyist who wants to learn the basics of electronics. The step-by-step approach requires no background in electronics.

Technology of the Gods: The incredible sciences of the ancients by David Hatcher Childress (Adventures Unlimited Press, 2000) £13.99

Controversial Lost Cities author David Childress claims to open the door to the amazing world of ancient technology, from the computers of the ancient world to how the ancients used electricity.

What the World Needs Now: A resource book for daydreamers, frustrated inventors, cranks, efficiency experts, utopians, gadgeteers, tinkerers and just about everybody else by Steven M Johnson (Ten Speed Press, March 2001) £10.99

A humorous, mainly visual book that takes a sideways, thought-provoking look at the world of the inventor.