''Engines: Man's Use of Power, from the Water Wheel to the Atomic Pile'' is a

science book A science book is a work of nonfiction, usually written by a scientist, researcher, or professor like Stephen Hawking (''A Brief History of Time''), or sometimes by a non-scientist such as Bill Bryson ('' A Short History of Nearly Everything''). ...

for children by

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, illustrated by

Jack Coggins Jack Banham Coggins (July 10, 1911 – January 30, 2006) was an artist, author, and illustrator. He is known in the United States for his oil paintings, which focused predominantly on marine subjects. He is also known for his books on space tra ...

, published by

Golden Press Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

as part of its Golden Library of Knowledge Series in 1959."Books of the Week" in ''The Science News-Letter'', v. 76, no. 3, July 18, 1959, page 44. A revised edition was issued in 1961, and a paperback edition in 1969. The book has been translated into Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Portuguese, and German.

Summary

As stated on the cover, the work is a survey of "Man's use of power, from the water wheel to the atomic pile." The topic is covered in short segments, titled "The Age of Engines," "Putting Energy to Work," "The First Engines," "Water and Wind Engines," "Early Steam Engines," "How a Steam Engine Works", "Steam Turbines," "Internal-combustion engines," "Otto Cycle Engines," "Two-stroke Cycle Engines," "Diesel Engines," "Gas Turbines," "Rockets," "Electric Motors," "How an Electric Motor Works," "Electric Generators and Power Systems," "Atomic Engines," and "How a Reactor Works." There is a brief one-page topical index.

Reception

''The Science News-Letter'', in its July 18, 1959 issue, listed the book among its "Books of the Week," describing the work as a " ctual book for young readers."

Notes

1959 children's books Children's non-fiction books Science books Books by L. Sprague de Camp American children's books {{child-book-stub