Smithsonian Magazine
Smithsonian Magazine
“Material scientist Ainissa Ramirez offers up a highly readable exploration of how eight inventions—quartz clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, silver photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, labware and silicon chips—have both intentionally and inadvertently shaped our world.”
Library Journal
Library Journal
“[T]echnology buffs should appreciate Ramirez’s efforts to raise the attention of issues impacting scientists, engineers, and technologists.”
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
“By explaining how inventions both exotic and mundane transformed society, Ramirez’s ingenious survey illuminates the effect of science in a manner accessible to a wide readership.”
Undark Magazine
Undark Magazine
“Ramirez is one of those rare science writers who can take her material, present it in wholly unexpected ways, and in the process reshape a reader’s fundamental understanding of a subject.”
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Entertaining and elucidating—popular science done right, with enthusiasm and without dumbing-down.”