Reviewed with Trevor Barnes' Archaeology.

Gr. 4-6. Combining high-interest topics with colorful, eye-catching graphics, these sweeping surveys in the Kingfisher Knowledge series are tailor-made for hooking middle-graders, casual browsers, and reluctant older readers. In Archaeology, Barnes talks up the excitement of hands-on study of the past in a whirlwind tour of renowned finds, from Catal Huyuk to Great Zimbabwe. Platt offers quick looks at communications media, from bee dances to DVDs, before closing with vague comments on the perils of censorship and advertising. In both volumes, text blocks and big color photos or reconstructed scenes occupy roughly equal space on topical spreads, which are grouped into chapters, each of which concludes with a terse chapter summary plus sparse assortments of book citations, URLs, and brief definitions of relevant careers. Despite a predictable skimpiness of detail, plus a few factual errors (the screw in an image of Gutenberg's press is threaded the wrong way), these make potentially popular, if not quite essential, additions. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Communication explores the technologies that we use to share information and "talk" to one another, from the alphabet to television and the Internet. Learn about significant moments in communication history, such as the invention of the telephone and the origins of the World Wide Web. Discover how photography saves lives, how radio waves are used in space travel, and how communication is used during times of war.