#000064
How Things Work, Vol. IV
C. van Amerongen (trans.)
Volume IV of How Things Work: The Universal Encyclopedia of Machines, completing the English-language set adapted by C. van Amerongen from the Bibliographisches Institut's German reference work Wie funktioniert das? Like the earlier volumes, it explains the workings of machines and technologies through hundreds of two-color diagrams, each paired with clear text and organized around underlying principles rather than product categories. Taken together, the four volumes form one of the most satisfying illustrated technical references of its era, ranging across mechanics, electricity, optics, sound, and industry. Some of the devices it details have since passed into history, which only adds to its charm; the physical explanations it offers remain sound and beautifully drawn. For students, tinkerers, and anyone who delights in understanding how the built world actually functions, the set is a small monument to clear explanation.
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The editors
The work originated with the technical editorial team of the Bibliographisches Institut in Mannheim, which published it in German in 1963 as Wie funktioniert das?. The English adaptation was translated and edited by C. van Amerongen, an engineer who rendered its technical German into clear, readable English.
The book
How Things Work: The Universal Encyclopedia of Machines explains the theory and practice of modern machines and methods across hundreds of entries, from household gadgets to heavy industry. Its signature is the two-color diagram: more than a thousand annotated drawings, each facing a page of explanation, organized by scientific principle rather than product category. This set gathers the material across four volumes.
How it has aged
Some of the technology—analog electronics, film cameras, early data processing—now belongs to history, which is part of the charm. But the physical principles it teaches don't date, and few later references match its clarity of illustration. A period piece that still explains beautifully.
For more context
Compare the closely related The Way Things Work editions and David Macaulay's later illustrated classic of the same name.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- C. van Amerongen (trans.)
- ISBN
- None
- Format
- Hardcover
- Shelf
- Reference
- Location
- Maine
Part of 4-vol set