How Do They Do That? [Paperback]

Caroline Sutton (Author)

Book Description

HOW DO
THEY
DO THAT?

• How do they make mirrors?
• How do sword swallowers swallow swords?
• How does a Polaroid picture develop in broad daylight?
• How do camels go without water?
• How do they splice genes?
• How do they create spectacular fireworks?

How indeed?

Ever found yourself wide-eyed at the wonders of science? Awestruck by the arts? Mystified by the miracles of nature or the marvels of technology?

Relief is at hand. Within these pages answers abound. How Do They Do That? clarifies what used to mystify. It explains the inexplicable and makes known the unknown.

Here is a book for both the mildly curious and the grand inquisitor. Take a few hours or take a few minutes to browse through this repository of riddles revealed. You'll discover that it's not hocus-pocus that put the whole pear in the bottle of pear brandy or sorcery that suspends a suspension bridge. But if not by magic, how do they do that?

The answer awaits within. A questioner's cure, an anodyne of answers, How Do They Do That? is a puzzler's paradise.

Caroline Sutton, a graduate of Wesleyan University, fives in New York City, where she writes and edits for the Hilltown Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 edition (July 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068801111X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688011116
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,008,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for Children, December 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How Do They Do That? (Paperback)

Amazon has let me down! I have to take serious exception to this book being marketed to children as young as nine to twelve years old. On previewing the book before giving it as a gift, I discovered that in addition to some things a child might comprehend and be interested in, there are several that the parent of a nine year old trying to delay exposure to sex, violence and drugs would have major trouble with.

Sections on Artificial Insemination and Sperm Banks are rather "detailed" and would raise more questions than they would answer. One on Truth Serum describes how it might be used on an axe murderer; the piece on chicken processing details assembly line shackling, stunning and beheading methodology; and one on gun silencers references the close quarters use on movie characters. There are also sections on the production of marijuana and hashish.

Aside from these sections, the information is varied, interesting and informative, but on the whole I would say it is written for adults and would be of most interest to mid-teens and older. Parents will no doubt differ on what to present when, but I would consider this definitely unsuitable for nine year olds, and marginal for those 12-15.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a really fun book, February 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How Do They Do That? (Paperback)

We came across this book at the Smithsonian book shop and frankly neither my 13 year old daughter, nor I could put it down. We learned how to saw a person in half, and lots of other useful skills. Each item has a short description explaining one "mystery of the universe". Each is presented in a fun, entertaining manner. You can just browse through till you come to one of the things you were always dying to know about. The collection of items is very eclectic. This book is a charmer that virtually any kid or kid at heart would enjoy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated material, December 31, 2003

By 

Austin Guy (Round Rock, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How Do They Do That? (Paperback)

This book is interesting enough. It brings up lots of questions I had thought about before. More so, the book invoke interestng question I had never thought about before. It is geared towards an adult adience even though most children will find it interesting.

The number of my complaints are limited to two.
1. The material is dated. Published in the early 1980's, some information is just plain wrong. Technologial advances some of the answers obsolete.

2. There are no photographs but diagrams are scattered thoughout the pages. More illustrations would be beneficial is understanding some of the answers.