Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Written for adults but suitable for precocious children, July 15, 2009
These are excellent books but there is a common misapprehension: many people think that these were written for children.
In fact, and quite definitively, these were written for the college-educated adult, circa 1964. The editors make this clear in their introductions.
The reason some people think they were written for children is because THEY themselves enjoyed them as kids. Why? Because they were smarter than average and could thereby handle them. Most kids couldn't and turned away.
Written for adults in order to prompt a "new Enlightment", these are excellent for kids of above-average motivation or intelligence. The vocabulary chosen is clearly that of a college-educated person, thus preparing the kids for their path through life.
Dated, but irreplaceable. Newer publications of this type actually ARE written for children and the difference is immediately noticeable as a "dumbing down". And though they are dated, the earlier reviews are correct is stating that they provide an excellent, and rather well-detailed, introduction to the various topics.
Buy these if you have a chance. Do it now.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The absolutely BEST science education book set EVER!, June 17, 2009
I first used this set when it was owned by my grandparents, and there's no question that it prepared and led me to my undergraduate degree in Chemistry and graduate work in Quantum Chemistry.
Not too long ago, I managed to acquire a used set for my own kids, and I remain convinced of the books inestimable value as a science education tool. The set, which cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars in the 60's, is positively INSPIRATIONAL when it comes to it's balanced historical, visual, and factual science perspectives.
That said, the material is dated, but provides an absoutely unparalleled foundational basis for science study by serious students!
And what a bargain, as the books are selling for a tiny fraction of their original and now true worth.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
I agree, the best ever, July 12, 2009
I agree, this is the best set of science education books for a general audience ever produced. They had an inspired urgency, in the wake of Sputnik: the writing was clear, concise, and to the point, perfect for interested kids like me. Books "for dummies" didn't exist, and compared to these, they seem a great mistake: no wonder nearly everyone in the 1960s could tell a Redstone rocket from an Atlas missile, but hardly anyone today knows what TCP/IP means.
These books came out at the apex of the art of magazine photojournalism. Previous print technologies couldn't do pictures anywhere near this well, and since the 1960s television has made us stupid. If you doubt this, see the Time-Life books from the 1980s on ghosts, UFOs, and other pseudoscientific nonsense.
The Life Science Library deserved a vastly better sequel. They helped me greatly, from when I was five to well through high school, particularly the ones on The Scientist, Planets (the first book by Carl Sagan), Man and Space, Light and Vision, Mathematics, Time, and The Mind. They're still a fertile ground for ideas: I am now a professional astronomer, writing my own book. If it comes even close to this very high standard, I will consider it a job superbly done! My great thanks to the Imholz family, who owned the set I used.
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