Means of Transport That Changed the World

by Štěpánka Sekaninová

We start our journey on boats and we end up in the space. A history of transport told by terrific illustrations. Travel back with us as we explore the world‘s most important milestones in the development of travel and transportation. From little-noticed ideas that launched a technological revolution, through expeditions that reached for the stars, to tragedies that ended vast projects once and for all. As this book will show, every ending stands at the beginning of something new. Take a ride with us on the fastest, greatest, most awesome, most controversial machines that moved humanity forward.

Genres: Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a crisp, easy to read timeline on the front and back endpapers, this informative book offers readers a brief introduction to 29 different types of transportation over the years. Starting with an enormous galley from the third century and then moving on to a hot air balloon as well as Japan's shinkansen and spacecraft such as the Apollo 11 and Saturn V and the Columbia space shuttle, readers will realize that how humans travel as certainly changed over the years, particularly in recent times. While it might have been helpful to expand on how the various entries were chosen for inclusion in the book, each one is interesting, and readers will surely wonder about what might have happened if certain vessels such as the Hindenburg or the Titanic had not ended their voyages in disaster. Readers intrigued by travel, transportation, and inventions will certainly want to peruse this book as a starting place for information about how humans have moved. Each entry contains a page of text, sometimes a little more, and a large drawing of the means of transportation being discussed. Families and students might enjoy discussing which one of these inventions changed the world the most and what the next step in travel might be.

[Ondřej Puczok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jedna z těch knížek, kde kdybych počítal každé přečtení, mám díky zájmu pidižvíka roční výzvu na počet přečtených knih rovnou hotovou... Dopravní prostředky jsou dostatečně různorodé a ilustrace velmi povedené (a i hezky porovnávají více druhů stejného prostředku), aby to i nejmenšího čtenáře udrželo v pozornosti. Od lodí přes nejrůznější automobily a vlaky po letadla i raketoplán. Potud skvělé a moc nás to baví.

Horší hodnocení (přesto silnější 3*) pak míří za neujasněnou koncepcí knihy (nebo nejasné zaměření na mladou či dospělou cílovou skupinu), kdy se mísí texty populární s částmi technickými a zároveň stránky zaměřené na samotné dopravní prostředky s kapitolami spíše o událostech, které nějak pohnuly světem. Např. hned u dvou motorek jde v jednom případě spíše o člověka, než jeho prostředek, a v tom druhém o film pro pamětníky, jen s letmou zmínkou o značce. To by nemuselo vadit, ale celé to má být pro čtenáře od 9 let a onen mix všech zmíněných částí není úplně vyrovnaný. Umím si to představit třeba tak, že by u každého z prostředků byla jedna půlka o "stroji" a druhá o "příběhu". Pak by si každý přišel na své...

[Cindy Huskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve ever looked at your car, train, or plane ticket and thought, Wow, humanity has really come a long way, then congratulations—you are exactly the target audience for Means of Transport That Changed the World. This book takes you on a beautifully illustrated, slightly chaotic journey through the biggest transportation breakthroughs in history. From boats to space shuttles, it’s a rollercoaster of genius ideas, questionable decision-making, and the occasional oops, that did not go as planned.



The good: The illustrations are stunning, the history is fascinating, and you’ll walk away knowing way too much about how we went from paddling canoes to launching people into orbit. The bad: Despite covering centuries of transportation advancements, this book still refuses to explain why I can’t teleport to work yet. Rude.

So why only 4 stars? Because while it’s a fantastic read, it also leaves you mildly frustrated that we went from steam engines to space travel but somehow still can’t get public transportation to run on time. Also, no jetpacks. But hey, at least now you can impress people with fun facts about historical boats while stuck in traffic.

✨ Final Verdict: A must-read for history buffs, engineering nerds, and anyone who’s ever wished their morning commute involved more rockets and fewer delays. Just be warned: you may finish this book feeling personally offended that we don’t have flying cars yet.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong four stars for this pleasantly educational book, although I do wish it hadn't decided to put allegedly amusing dialogue in place of its information at times. We look at notable vehicles here, from near-legendary triremes of the ancient Med, to the first hot air balloon – here we read of the French villagers where it landed fending it off with pitchforks – to singular, specific sets of wheels, such as Lincoln's funerary train. All get their own double-page spread, with a finely-done large illustration and perhaps one or two extra line images, and just enough information to get the young student a little more informed. OK, it's not perfectly correct now and again – the Titanic had three engines, and one of the stacks never let off steam like in the image, and you cannot get away with saying the Eagle module for Apollo 11 was part of a Saturn V – but it does a very good job of being varied, lively and fun.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS Amazing artwork and an impressive array of means of transport from ancient ships to space shuttles, hot air balloons to aircraft, the first metro to the shinkasen. I’m not sure if something was lost in translation but I did find some of the text rather uneven, the humor felt out of place, and felt there was undue emphasis on certain ancillary historical details and not enough on depth on in others. Also, no bibliography. While younger children may be able to appreciate the illustrations, the text is more suitable for upper elementary and above.

[BiblioBrandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this kind of nonfiction, a look at history through a specific lens, in this case milestones in the development of travel and transportation. Beautiful illustrations and just the right amount of information.