Timeline Science and Technology: A Visual History of Our World

by Peter Goes

A visual introduction to our planet and society told through the history of our greatest inventions and the technology that has changed the world.

In his signature playful style, Peter Goes illustrates the most fascinating technologies, from the first tools to the most specialized IT, from medical breakthroughs to the creation of YouTube. He includes remarkable scientists and innovators and highlights lesser-known stories. A compelling history of technology from the Stone Age to the present day, from America to the Southern hemisphere and beyond.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Technology, Childrens, Picture Books

80 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2020

About the author

Peter Goes lives in Belgium where he works as a freelance illustrator. He has also worked as a stage manager and studied animation at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent, Belgium

Reviews

[Cheryl]

A bit like the Eyewitness books but hard to read. Hugely oversize, tiny print that goes in all directions, each spread almost all one color. Concepts presented as trivia facts; imo the connections are not clear at all. Also there doesn't seem to be much attention paid to women. Nor is there an index or any other back matter.

I did learn about Göbekli Tepe (which I had to look up to learn the name of) which 6K years older than Stonehenge and much bigger.

June 2025

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Timeline” – ще рече „хроника“. Добавяме окончание „-s” за множествено число и получаваме „Timelines” – „Хроники“. Извинете, професионално изкривяване на учител и преводач. Не за граматика на английския език ще си говорим днес. Темата е съвсем друга. Става дума за изд. „Timelines”, което дебютира преди няколко години с възхитителната книга „Хроники. Пътуване през историята“ на белгийския художник Петер Хус. От тогава насам из родните книжарници дебютираха не една и две илюстровани енциклопедии за деца, но малко от тях могат да се мерят с размаха, красотата и подхода на „Хроники“. Както и с формата на книгата! Все пак, нуждаем се от подобаващо пространство за един подобен свръхсинтезиран графичен обзор на цялата позната история! Хус беше успял да улови ери и епохи, еволюция и революция, възходи и падения по визуално пленителен и удивително разбираем начин. Историята оживя пред очите ни под формата на забавни, изпълнени с визуални гегове, но и множество информативни детайли илюстрации. И дълго време нямаше книга, която да се опре на тази. Но ето, че вече има. И тя е… „Хроники. Наука и технологии“ от Петер Хус! Точно така, любимото „Пътуване през историята“ продължава във втори том, който се съсредоточава върху откритията, експедициите, технологичния напредък на човечеството, както и върху начина, по който те променят както заобикалящия ни свят, така и представите ни за него. „Хроники. Наука и технологии“ е епична книга – и като вид и размер, и като съдържание! Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Ruben de Gruijl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtige tekeningen, wat een goed boek! Mooi om zo door de geschiedenis van de wetenschap en techniek te bladeren.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a 3.5 for me, and I loved looking at it from a distance and up close. I simply adore books like this that cover a topic so broadly and in an appealing visual style. In this over-sized book published originally in Dutch, Peter Goes takes readers from the Stone Age to modern times from the perspective of the development of science and technology. The dark timeline that ebbs and flows across the center of each double-page spread contains various images of humans as they learn to make machines or concoct inventions that will ease their work. From a simple pestle and mortar and wooden spear point to a seed drill in China to flying buttresses in the 14th century to bitcoins in 2009, readers will be intrigued by the bits of information that are presented on this book's pages. Because the fragments are brief and often curved around an image, they are easy to read even though they are small in size. I was impressed that the author/illustrator seemed to have taken great pains to include the contributions of women and cultures other than those in the Western world although there might have been more inclusion of Africa and the New World in its contents. With its size and colorful orange cover and sometimes cartoonish artwork, this book will appeal to curious youngsters in middle grade and late intermediate grade levels. While some readers won't like all the dark ink images, the colorful background helps with visual appeal, and the content sells itself. I would have liked to have found references for all the information included in this book so that I could read even more about the science and technological advances that are highlighted here. Fans of books about world records or innovations or even history will enjoy browsing through this one.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bij “technologie” denk je vast aan computers en satellieten. Wist je dat deze moderne technologie zijn oorsprong vindt in de oude steentijd? Peter Goes neemt de kijker mee op een reis door de tijd.

‘Tijdlijn Wetenschap & Techniek’ is een prachtig informatief boek met grote kijkplaten die de wetenschap en technologische vondsten tonen. In Wetenschap & Techniek wordt niet alleen de West-Europese technische ontwikkeling gevolgd, maar ook bijv. die uit Midden-Amerika en uit het Midden-Oosten. Twee andere titels van hetzelfde formaat zijn het met blauwe omslag ‘Tijdlijn, reis door de geschiedenis’ en het met groene omslag ‘Rivieren, reis langs zeeën, meren en rivieren’.

Verspreid over het gekozen tijdvak staat per twee pagina’s tekst die algemene informatie geeft over de behandelde periode, maar ook meerdere interessante details. De lezer leert zo veel nieuwe feitjes, ook degene die dacht alles te weten.
Iedereen weet bijvoorbeeld dat de Egyptenaren een manier hadden bedacht om de beroemde piramides te bouwen. Maar ze konden ook op een nieuwe manier inkt maken met gom, roet en bijenwas en ze hadden een nieuwe soort tandpasta.

De in één hoofdkleur gedrukte bladzijden nodigen uit tot het in detail bekijken en bestuderen van de pagina’s. Voor de één zullen de illustraties herkenning oproepen, voor de ander zullen deze aanzetten tot het nader opzoeken van informatie.
Herkenbare bouwwerken van een tijdvak staan groter getekend, zoals een kasteel en kathedraal in de middeleeuwen, en trekken dus de aandacht van de kijker. Deze getriggerde kijker zal vervolgens verder lezen over de stijgbeugel-uitvinding die vanuit China in Europa komt. Handig voor een riddergevecht te paard! En als je in de 18e eeuw ronddwaalt kom je een vrouwelijke Duitse astronoom tegen en later lees je over een vrouwelijke Engelse wiskundige die de voorloper van de computer had uitgevonden maar niet als zodanig werd erkend. Zo blijf je leren in dit Tijdlijnboek.

Wat opvalt, is dat de pagina’s voller worden naarmate de tijd vordert. Dit betekent dat er steeds meer verandert in de wetenschap in een steeds kortere tijd. De geïnteresseerde lezer heeft veel te ontdekken. Een trefwoordenregister zou hierbij een handig hulpmiddel zijn.

Dit kleurrijke boek van groot formaat laat de gebruiker, van jong tot oud, urenlang kijken. Van voorkant tot barcode zorgt Peter Goes voor ontdekplezier!

[Lai Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timeline
Bộ này đang được nhà Alphabooks xuất bản 3 cuốn là
- Lược Sử Trực Quan Về Thế Giới
- Lược Sử Trực Quan Từ Sông Ra Biển
- Lược Sử Trực Quan Về Khoa Học Và Công Nghệ

Mình đọc cuốn Lược Sử Trực Quan Về Khoa Học Và Công Nghệ
Khổ sách to lắm (27x37), bên trong thông tin được trình bày ngắn gọn và dễ hiểu
Có rất nhiều hình minh họa (có màu toàn bộ)

Mình rất ấn tượng với hình minh họa trong sách, rất sinh động và trực quan, mà minh họa còn làm nổi bật được đặc trưng của từng vùng đất, con người, sự việc

Đúng với tên sách, các phát mình về khoa học và công nghệ được trình bày theo dòng thời gian của chiều dài lịch sử loài người: từ thời Đồ Đá đến cuộc sống hiện tại (từ năm 2000 trở về sau). Riêng từ thế kỷ 20 thì các cột mốc thời gian được chia theo khoảng 10 năm - đủ để thấy từ giai đoạn này, công nghệ và khoa học đã có những bước tiến thay và mạnh mẽ như thế nào

Đọc sách mà mình ồ òa trước những phát minh của nhân loại. Chưa bao giờ mình thắc mắc là những tiện ích mình đang sống hiện tại có từ bao giờ và khi nào? Nên lúc đọc sách cứ ồ òa, sao mà có nhiều người giỏi như thế, nhờ sự sáng tạo của họ mà có những thành quả rất vĩ đại

Sách này cũng thích hợp đọc với các bé nữa. Sách chỉ tầm 80 trang thôi nên đọc rất nhanh. Thông tin trong sách cũng được trình bày theo kiểu rất thú vị nhaaa

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives an interesting timeline of human history, following the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, Ancient Civilizations, the Greek and Roman Empires, Chinese emperors, the Byzantine Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, up to the present time. The last pages are divided into each decade of the 1900s, giving more details about each year, right up to the year 2020.

I love the whimsical art style that illustrates each time period. We see cartoon people discovering new lands, inventing new machines, writing and composing and painting. I love the designs of each page that include so many historic things, including architecture, landscapes, historic clothing, and culture.

There is a paragraph summarizing each time period, and little bits of information scattered around the page within the illustrations. It's like a treasure hunt for knowledge! I am very impressed with the way each era is summarized, and the wonderful factoids about history.

One thing that I really hate in history books is when a scientific THEORY is presented as if it were a fact. This is so unethical, and it would be so easy to correct. If only the text said, “One theory about the Stone Age is … etc.” But they don’t say that. They write as if the age of the earth and the theory of how humans evolved are established empirical facts that have been tested and proven. But they’re not. And it is dishonest to present a theory and pretend that it is a fact. It makes me not trust anything else that the book says. If they are misrepresenting one theory, they might be doing it all over the place. How can I trust what is written in this book if they aren’t careful to present the information in the correct way?

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This large format book is an excellent way to browse through the scientific accomplishments of humankind, from Paleolithic times to the present day. Each page opening displays an era, a century, or, in the case of the 20th and 21st centuries, a decade. A paragraph overview is amplified by a visual conceptual representation of the time’s advancements, with important people and inventions mentioned. Goes’s playful graphic art channels the era, and the humanoid people, uniformly lumpen, demonstrate new technologies. Really more of a browsing book than for research, still it encapsulates much of human knowledge with fun details and whimsical art. Each page opening has a different mid-range color, with no white pages, which I think complements the quirky visual take on history. The writing is concise and to the point, with the comprehension level more for older kids. Translated from the Dutch, this would make a fun gift.

Down sides: No index; not many black folks; no mention of Africa after Ancient Egypt. An effort was clearly made to find women of renown (for example, in 1950-1959, Rosalind Franklin gets her own mention, apart from Watson and Crick), but still there are few. Also, with its large size, this book probably will not fit on library shelves.

[Borislava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Великолепна детска енциклопедия, проследяваща основните моменти от развитието на науката и технологиите от зората на човечеството до днес. Илюстрациите са на автора и великолепно допълват кратките, но напълно изчерпателни текстове. Възрастова категория 8-10 години. Препоръчвам горещо!
Вече и с въпросник в Книговище.

[Nathan De · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wondered why Bluetooth is called the way it is called and what it has to do with a Danish Viking King? Take an amazing, beautifully illustrated, learning adventure throughout the history of science & technology. A pleasure to read for young and old!