Scan barcode
cdeane61's review
5.0
I enjoyed this read. Easy to pick up and peruse anytime, really.
No doubt about it, if I were to find myself in a survival situation, i would want a copy of this with me, if not for immediate survival tactics, definitely for long term survival.
Highly recommended for those that like this kid of stuff.
No doubt about it, if I were to find myself in a survival situation, i would want a copy of this with me, if not for immediate survival tactics, definitely for long term survival.
Highly recommended for those that like this kid of stuff.
roseybot's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like this book, like others I've read this year, is better in print. There were plenty of drawings that I missed by listening to it.
That being said, it was enjoyable, and I found some sections more informative than others. The humor was chipper and a little too much at times, but overall worked.
Not 100% sure why this was brought up as a goodreads nomination for best non fiction, but it was still worth reading.
Days between when I added this to read and when I read it: 71.
1/12/19 637 ratings (282 5*, 224 4*, 106 3*, 19 2*, 6 1*) ) 141 reviews | added by 11442 people, 9828 to-reads
That being said, it was enjoyable, and I found some sections more informative than others. The humor was chipper and a little too much at times, but overall worked.
Not 100% sure why this was brought up as a goodreads nomination for best non fiction, but it was still worth reading.
Days between when I added this to read and when I read it: 71.
1/12/19 637 ratings (282 5*, 224 4*, 106 3*, 19 2*, 6 1*) ) 141 reviews | added by 11442 people, 9828 to-reads
emsemce123's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
Loved this. Discovered it while reading This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal Al-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and thought, "with a title like that, I have to check it out." It's my favorite combination of funny and informative. Really interesting stuff and a great topic I'm sure we've all thought about in way or another at some point or another. How stuff is invented or made. I've actually talked with friends about this, how technology was invented centuries ago (i.e. the telescope) that you would think it would just be common knowledge today and yet it's not. Could be it's obsolete and we don't need to but I'm sure knowing the science behind it would help. That's what this book teaches you. Survival techniques, what basic resources make up modern food and medicine, farming, tools, things we'd overlook without even thinking about. (Language, reading, and writing) And all of it is presented in fairly easy to understand text, admittedly some stuff lost me or was hard to pay attention to it as it wasn't the most interesting to me. (Mathematics and Logic) and some stuff that I did find interesting but want an even more detailed lesson on. Highly recommend for anyone who's even slightly curious in anything.
docpacey's review against another edition
4.0
I've read several books of this kind: how to build a technological society from scratch, and this one is the most entertaining. Written as a guide for a time traveler who might end up anywhere in history, each chapter gives said traveler some idea of what the prerequisites might be for inventing the things necessary to make life more livable, or become famous for inventing things before their time. Of course it presupposes travel to areas where resources can be found, but it's still pretty clever and very accessible to anyone with scientific curiosity. If you like this kind of thing, you should seek out the anime "Dr Stone" which does the same thing in a post apocalyptic society.
Q: 4
E: 4
I: 4
qxe + I = 20
Q: 4
E: 4
I: 4
qxe + I = 20
ludon5681's review against another edition
Read it so many times that it just became boring.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
3.0
This is a "guidebook on reinventing elements of modern civilization for a stranded time-traveller" . I thought the premise was fun and I loved it when I started, but I found it quite a difficult book to read from start to finish. The gimmick grew a little stale and then you are left with short bite-sized explanations of all kinds of stuff. And I love stuff! I'm genuinely fascinated by everything when you really dive into it. But since the chapters were all quite short and the explanations were superificial, they fell into two categories for me: a) too difficult to understand and follow - all the "how to build your own XYZ machine" fell into this category for me and b) I already know quite a lot about the topic and was irritiated by the way it was described. There's one page on philosophy that has a single line of jokey explanations for different philosophies all based around "high fiving", and while I thought some of them were funny, the one for consequentialism wasn't just mean-spirited, it was wrong.
So, yes, a somewhat fun book about all kinds of stuff, but it mostly served me as a reminder of what I don't know much about. More books on mechanics it is then.
So, yes, a somewhat fun book about all kinds of stuff, but it mostly served me as a reminder of what I don't know much about. More books on mechanics it is then.
waterviolite's review against another edition
5.0
Using the framing narrative that the reader got stranded at some unknown point in history due to a malfunctioning time machine, North gives an entertaining overview of everything in our world - from counting to computers; purifying water to synthesizing hydrochloric acid. This book contains the sort of fundamental knowledge every adult should know, so we can understand how things work, rather than trusting that everything will always work at the press of a button.