What's What

by David Fisher, Reginald Bragonier

Pictures of common objects and the parts of which they are composed, classed under general categories such as living things, transportation, and personal items, are identified by name.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Writing, Science, History, Design

565 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

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Reviews

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sixty-three-plus people who made this amazing book -- I love you!

Diagrams and exploded views, made before computers were doing much graphics and instead they were using graphic designers ink pens and stat cameras to convert it to metal plates for printing press. Some of the illustrations, though, looks like they were originally created as lithographic (etched stone) prints.

Shoutout to my professor, Scip Barnhart from GWU and Corcoran, for teaching me so much about printmaking processes.

[Cade Utterback · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the coolest books I've ever come across. I'd never really heard of reference books before; I had just assumed that those meant the obvious ones, like dictionaries and thesauruses. This book, however, is so much more. It's an expertly-crafted amalgamation of numerous household and daily-seen items, things, doohickeys, whatchamacallits, and even people – with each entry expertly blown apart and properly labeled.

Ever wonder what that THING is on something? There's a pretty good chance this book has an illustrated diagram of the entire thing as well as the name of the specific part you're curious about. "A Visual Glossary of the Physical World" really is the best subtitle for this book.

The best part for me is that I picked this book up for super cheap at a local Goodwill. Thrift finds strike again!

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone as a neat addition to their home. It's a great time-killer if nothing else!

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fo a book so fully illustrated, this is slow reading but very informative, as befits a sizable tome meant as a reference book. I was pleasantly surprised by occasional bits of humor, as when the labeled business letter is from the firm of Scrooge and Marley. I learned some new words (swash, graticule, muntins, and others) and was exposed to many more that I tried to learn, but they wouldn't stick.

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stunning ... the proper names of practically every object on earth.

[Keith Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for those everyday things you forget the name of - or didn't know it had a name!