Follow the Link: A Journey Through Technology: From Frogs' Legs to the Titanic (Follow the Link)

by Tom Jackson

Nick Shepherd (Illustrator)

Follow the Link: A Journey Through Technology explores how some of today's greatest inventions came to be - and takes the reader on a journey through a network of knowledge. It tells the story of how we figured out what electricity is and how we learned to use it to communicate with each other. Over the centuries, we have taken the same power that creates a flash of lightning and used it to make Wi-Fi hotspots, power touchscreens, and send video messages. The inspiration behind new ideas is often surprising, always unpredictable and sometimes rather bizarre - discover how an experiment with frogs' legs made people think animals were kept alive by lightning, and other strange and incredible tales of progress.

• ISBN13: 9781609929572
• Publish Date: 6 June 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 3 July 2021
• Publish Country: CN
• Imprint: Words & Pictures
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 80
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Follow the Link is a fun book showing the historical connections in science and technology from prehistory to the present (and a glimpse of potential future innovations) aimed at young to middle readers (aged 7-12). The book starts with a background explanation of electricity and arrows move the reader along paths to explain those innovations and progress from early (non-scientific) reasons for natural phenomena to modern day concepts such as radio, electromagnets and smartphones.
Along the way, sidebar arrows and pictures describe all sorts of fun trivia (Donner & Blitzen's names translate to Thunder and Lightning, for example).

The text by Tom Jackson is well and clearly written, if somewhat frenetic. There is so much information that it seems scattered and random at times. Nick Shepherd's art is very simple, appealing, and colorful and the arrows and paths give the potentially overwhelming text a little more structure and flow.

Follow the Link is 80 pages, hardbound, and includes a useful timeline, glossary, and index. Published by Quarto - QEB Publishing.

It would definitely appeal to science interested youngsters and fun-leaning adults.

Four stars. Interesting material, well presented in a fun manner.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher