100 Steps for Science

A colourful approach to science in the broadest of sweeps, taking ten separate strands and breaking them down into ten steps that trace scientific discoveries and breakthroughs.  Opening with a chapter on Space, there are sections on Mapping the Night Sky, Marking Time and Navigating by Stars, leading on to Space Exploration.  This is followed by a chapter on Wheels, from log rollers to turbines and renewable energy.  Next comes Numbers, tracing the history of mathematics from the first recorded hieroglyphic numbers through geometry and algebra before arriving at modern-day computing, all in six busy pages taking in Einstein and Alan Turing along the way.  The order seems somewhat random, with chapters on Sound and Light separated from Energy; Medicine separated from Life.  But if you like your information busy and presented in piecemeal format, then this may fit the bill.  Yukai Du’s artwork follows a consistent palette, very much in the style of other Wide Eyed titles, part diagrammatic, part background scene-setting but with a vibrant energy of its own.  The text is quite dense, in a small typesize with a complex layout so would be more suitable for competent readers.  A detailed glossary is included but, oh dear, no index.