The Boy's Book of New Inventions

A boy's visits to a friendly scientist's laboratory give Harry E. Maule a way to explain the machines changing everyday life. In The Boy's Book of New Inventions, their conversations begin with the aeroplane and extend to motion pictures, wireless communication, automobile engines and concrete construction. The preface places the emphasis on inventions or developments that had recently reached wider use, while also telling the human stories behind the technical work.

The book combines that conversational approach with illustrations and explanations of working parts. Its account of motion-picture printing follows negative and positive film through rollers, sprockets and a lighted gate, then describes development, editing and the addition of titles. Chapters on Nikola Tesla and Thomas A. Edison broaden the range of subjects. Readers interested in the history of technology can see how early aviation, cinema and electrical engineering were presented to young audiences.