Inventions and how things work

Brumberg, B. and K. Axelrod (1994), Watch It Made in the U.S.A.: a Visitor's Guide to the Companies That Make Your Favorite Products (John Muir Publications).

de Bono, E., Ed. (1974), Eureka! An Illustrated History of Inventions From the Wheel to the Computer (Holt, Reinhart and Winston).

Diebold, J. (1990), The Innovators: the Discoveries, Inventions, and Breakthroughs of Our Time (Truman Talley / E. P. Dutton).

Jones, D. E. H. (1982), The Inventions of Daedalus: a Compendium of Plausible Schemes (W. H. Freeman).

Lienhard, J. H. (2003), Inventing Modern: Growing Up With X-Rays, Skyscrapers, and Tailfins (Oxford Univ. Press).

Lindsay, D. (1999), The Patent Files: Dispatches From the Frontiers of Invention (The Lyons Press).

Panati, C. (1980), Breakthroughs: Astonishing Advances in Your Lifetime in Medicine, Science, and Technology (Houghton-Mifflin).

Stern, B. (2012), Inventors at Work: the Minds and Motivation Behind Modern Inventions (Apress).

Tenner, E. (1996), Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (Alfred A. Knopf).

Tenner, E. (2003), Our Own Devices: the Past and Future of Body Technology (Alfred A. Knopf).

Vare, E. A. and G. Ptacek (1987), Mothers of Invention: From the Bra to the Bomb, Forgotten Women and Their Unforgettable Ideas (Quill / William Morrow).

Vare, E. A. and G. Ptacek (2002), Patently Female: From AZT to TV Dinners: Stories of Women Inventors and Their Breakthrough Ideas (Wiley).

Winston, R. (2010), Bad Ideas: an Arresting History of Our Inventions (Bantam).

Young, J. (1998), Forbes Greatest Technology Stories: Inspiring Tales of the Entrepreneurs and Inventors Who Revolutionized Modern Business (Wiley).