DK Eyewitness Books: Great Scientists [Library Binding]

Jackie Fortey (Author), John Farndon (Contributor)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: DK Eyewitness Books

In these 4 all-new titles-each with its own clip-art CD and wall chart-DK shines its Eyewitness spotlight on vital topics from the past, present, and future. While Mesopotamia explore the cradle of civilization and Great Scientists reveals the minds that shaped the modern world, China investigates the present-day culture of the most populous country on the planet, and Oil takes a look at the controversial substance responsible for the beginning-and, if we're not careful, the end of life as we know it today.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This title in the familiar, slightly revamped Eyewitness series introduces the work of pioneering scientists, beginning with Aristotle and ending with Stephen Hawking. Women aren't entirely ignored, although only two are among the 30 inclusions, with one or two more briefly identified elsewhere in the text. The design is busy, but never seems crowded. Each two-page spread features an introductory paragraph summarizing a scientist's contribution with a sentence or two of personal information, a time line, and a small picture of the individual. The remainder of the spread is a scattering of sharp photos, extensively captioned in very small type, that aim to establish the historical effect of the scientist's work. The information delivery is hit-and-miss, but Fortey opens the way to some interesting questions (what, for example, were the details of Richard Feynman's accusations against NASA after the 1986 Challenger explosion?). Unfortunately, there are no resources to help readers answer them. As far as piquing interest goes, however, the author's approach works well; it will even attract older readers. A slipcased poster and a CD of clip art are included. Zvirin, Stephanie --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"The [Eyewitness] books are breathtaking...You'll have so much fun poring over them that you'll hardly know you're learning." -- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 72 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (June 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075662973X
• ISBN-13: 978-0756629731
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,287,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best, October 20, 2008

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DK Eyewitness Books: Great Scientists (Hardcover)

The DK Eyewitness books belong in the personal library of every curious adult, all school libraries, and on the shelves of children seeking early knowledge in particular scientific fields.

However, I make an exception for "Eyewitness: Great Scientists." This is such an outstanding book, even for an outstanding series of books, that I cannot recommend it for everyone. That is a really strange statement, I know. "Eyewitness: Great Scientists" is really for the curious who thirst for knowledge, who must know things. Its depth is beyond other Eyewitness books. For science it is still an introduction, but an introduction to approximately 30 different fields.

"Eyewitness: Great Scientists" is a whetstone for young minds interested in any field of science. Why? For example, the child is introduced to Madame Curie, is fascinated by her life and work, then seeks out single books about her. Curiosity grows into a greater knowledge. This book is not a stopping point, but a stepping stone to a greater destination.

Most of the 30 scientists are given a two-page spread identifying them, their work, a timely chronology, sideline stories, and other related matter. The two-pages include photographs, illustrations, and text.

Look at some of the scientists included:
Aristotle
Archimedes
Zhang Heng
William Harvey
Georges Cuvier
Charles Babbage
Louis Pasteur
Marie Curie
Albert Einstein
Edwin Hubble
Dorothy Hodgkin
Stephen Hawking

The book concludes with a section on "Science and the future," offers milestones, lists websites to "Find out more," and discusses the Nobel Prize.

All the new Eyewitness books come with a 24 x 36 poster highlighting topics from the book and a CD of related clip art. This particular poster has Einstein's relativity theory, Marie Curie's x-ray, Hubble's telescope, Crick and Watson's DNA model, Darwin's natural selection, Harvey's blood flow, Newton's light spectrum, Zhang Heng's star chart, and Archimedes' Screw, plus a few more. The poster is a learning experience in itself.

I hope this review convinces you that "Eyewitness: Great Scientists" is a book to have, not just to collect dust, but to take out and read and add to your store of knowledge. Perhaps it will influence a young mind to do great things!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I would give this 3.5 stars but I can't. . . ., September 5, 2008

By 

Grandma (NH, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DK Eyewitness Books: Great Scientists (Hardcover)

I'm very enthusiastic about the newer series from DK that come with clip art discs and posters. Children like DK books, even if the pages are a little crowded, and I buy them often for our homeschool studies. Great Scientists (DK Eyewitness Books), however, is just not quite up to snuff in two specific ways.

Great Scientists (DK Eyewitness Books) provides short portraits of thirty great names in science, each on a two page spread, going all the way back to Aristotle. Of those 30 scientists, just two are women: Marie Curie and Dorothy Hodgkin. Lost in the clutter on the pages of the other, male "Greats" are Lisa Mietner, the woman who pioneered nuclear fission; Rosalind Franklin, who did all of the X-ray photography of the structure of DNA (many scientists believe that she should have been included in the Nobel received by Watson & Crick); and Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, USN, who did pioneering work in computer programming. Each of these three women has made huge, groundbreaking contributions to modern science. To relegate them to a tiny picture and a single paragraph lost in the clutter of a male peer's page is a truly unfortunate oversight. Minus one full star.

Additionally, DK's choice of biographical detail is at times odd, sometimes including details that seem unrelated to an individual's role as scientist. Thus, Great Scientists (DK Eyewitness Books) finds it appropriate to mention that Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and Dorothy Hodgkin were both socialists (just what does socialism have to do with science?) while failing to mention Benjamin Franklin's activities as an American revolutionary figure. Great Scientists (DK Eyewitness Books) identifies Albert Einstein as German and Lisa Meitner as Jewish, yet fails to specify that Einstein was Jewish and Meitner was German. Minus 0.5 star.

All in all, Great Scientists (DK Eyewitness Books) is not so "great" but really just ordinary. Useful, but not brilliant.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Popular with my 7th graders, December 12, 2008

By 

eec - See all my reviews

This review is from: DK Eyewitness Books: Great Scientists (Hardcover)

My students liked this book a lot (one of many DK I've purchased for my classroom). One liked it so much it was never returned. Oh well, at least when they steal a book, I know they are reading!
The kids' enjoy the many photographs and pictures, the quality of the book itself (size, good paper, durability), the text is slightly challenging yet readable for kids of varied level (7th graders at my school read from 2nd - 9th grade level), and it gets them discussing somethings that are interesting and thought-provoking.