"Science of Everything" by the National Geographic Society is a beautifully illustrated book that describes how things work.

The book is separated into parts that are further subdivided into chapters. So chapter one is devoted to Mechanics, specifically the Laws of Motion and Energy. Alongside these explanations, we get little pictures that explain how things work. So in that section, we might find a part devoted to a jet turbine, with a cross-sectioned image of the little parts that go into it.

Now that I think about it, this book reminds me of Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe. This book is slightly thicker and does take the idea of not using comics, but Thing Explainer had its own charm. Speaking of which, I might revisit that book, it was pretty good from what I remember.

There are four parts in total and it covers a great deal of information. Part one is devoted to Mechanics as mentioned before, Part two is called Natural Forces and focuses on things like Gravity, Light, Magnetism, Electricity, and Radiation. So it covers the Four Fundamental Forces besides the Strong Force I think. Part three is called Materials and Chemistry. It covers the Elements, Polymers and Resins, and Nanotechnology. Part four covers Biology and Medicine.

The book is really interesting. Like I mentioned before, the illustrations are charming and well done. The little blurbs of text really explain the principles mentioned in the book and it is well-organized around the parts and chapters. It is organized according to the application rather than anything else. Take Ultrasound for instance; rather than being in the Biology and Medicine section, it is located in the section devoted to Mechanics. Rather than being in a section on Mechanics, the Elevator and Escalator are both in the section on Gravity. So that might be a little bit of an annoyance, but it shouldn’t be if you use the index I suppose. ( )

This beautiful book differs from most "How Things Work" books in its emphasis on the scientific principles behind the 'how'. For example, the section on how airplanes fly emphasizes the Bernoulli Principle. Don't worry, this does not make it boring! Far from it. This book works both as a reference and trivia book for adults, and would make a wonderful gift for any kid interested in the world around them. And it is impossible to overemphasis how well-illustrated it is. There are excellent color photographs or diagrams on every page. ( )