The book divides history - from prehistoric times to modern day - into ten chapters: prehistory through 849 BCE, classical and early medieval science, late medieval and renaissance science, the scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, the age of steam, the age of electricity, the atomic age, the space age and the modern world. Within these easily digestible segments, all human scientific achievement and innovation are divided into four topical areas (astronomy and math, biology and medicine, physical sciences and engineering and invention) and displayed by region of the world (Africa and the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, the Americas, and Europe) for easy comparison. Informative sidebars - 'Inside Story', 'Turning Points', 'How Things Work' - provide short, interactive bursts of information, while two-page feature spreads explore the most revolutionary inventions in greater depth. Compelling essays and quotations enrich the pages. Readers learn how humans managed to create fire and eventually produce it at will; how the wheel came to be and how its appearance on the world stage changed the course of humankind forever; the secrets of Meso-American pyramids; how the Chinese harnessed water power; the fundamentals of early Arabian science; the evolution of creating of guns and gunpowder; and the breathtaking achievements of Gallileo, Newton and Fahrenheit. Readers also get to marvel at invention and science in the modern world, from fractals, to cell phone innovention to the Hubble Space Telescope. About 350 photos, maps, illustrations and diagrams add visually compelling emphasis to the information. A glossary explains unfamiliar scientific and technical terms, while a detailed index makes the books a substantive reference.