In this post, we will see the book Miracles on Wheels: A Book for Inquiring Minds by Anatoly Markusha.About the book:This book has been written not only for budding engineers and mechanics: it is addressed to anyone who is thinking of becoming closely involved with machines and technology at any level, to anyone who is interested in the history of technology, or who likes to solve absorbing puzzles and make useful things with their own hands. In short, Miracles on Wheels is a book for inquiring minds.The title of the book was chosen because our world literally runs on wheels, the wheels of cars, lorries and trains, and the wheels turning inside millions of machines. Wheels have a complex and dramatic history, a history which is also the history of technology.About the author:Anatoly Markusha has written more than fifty books, and he never tires of telling young people about technology's past and present, about its development, its achievements and the prospects for its future. He always tries to help the young reader share his enthusiasm, and he explains how to master technology and find a common language with machines.Before he began writing books, Anatoly Markusha had been a reporter for an evening newspaper, he was a fighter pilot during the war and he gained a qualification as a test-pilot. After his health forbade him to continue flying, he began working as a mechanic. It was then that he started his first book, entitled You Have Take-off.He has now been writing books for over twenty years and his works have been published in over a dozen languages, both in the Soviet Union and abroad, with a total output of around ten million copies.And always, in every book, the author returns to his main theme of Man and Machine. For him the world of technology is not merely a world of amazing machines, it is also a world of restless and thinking people who make great demands both on themselves and on others. The author calls on young people not to delay, not to put off their entry into this remarkable world. And his books help his young readers to make their choice and to find their way in an active and interesting life.There are some remarkable drawings inside the book.And of course the coloured drawings at the chapter headings are awesome:The book was translated from the Russian by Graham Whittaker and the amazing illustrations are by Boris Lavrov. The book was first published by Raduga in 1987.ContentsAbout This Book and Its Author 81Three "Notches" for My Memory 10An Unexpected, Though Quite Relevant, Digression 14A Definition from an Old Dictionary 17A Little Something from the Biography of a Most Useful Machine 22For Those Who Are Not Convinced 26Something to Think About, Problems to Solve 28Some Useful Hints 31Dates on the Calendar 362Something Quite Clear, and Something Not So Clear 40The Indispensable Language 44In Praise of Our Oldest Teacher 52Something to Think About, Problems to Solve 56Some Useful Hints 59Dates on the Calendar 633Two Unforgettable Encounters 66And If We Come Down to Earth? 71Something to Think About, Problems to Solve 79Some Useful Hints 82Dates on the Calendar 854A Few Particulars About an Engineer's Character 90Something to Think About, Problems to Solve 105Some Useful Hints 107Dates on the Calendar 1105What Do You Know About Charles Goodyear? 116How to Test Yourself, How Not to Make a Mistake? 120The Melancholy Boy with the Large Album 124Something to Think About, Problems to Solve (Answers) 131Some Useful Hints 135Dates on the Calendar 1396The Uninvited Sequel to an Unexpected Meeting 142A Sense of Time, an Ability to Foresee, and a Readiness to Fight 146Something to Think About, Problems to Solve (Answers) 151Some Useful Hints 153Dates on the Calendar 1577A Matter of Getting the Job Done. Anywhere, Any Time. On Your Own, or with Others 160It Won't Get You a Monument, but... 164The Last of the Mohicans 168If You Work at It, then Everything's Possible 172Something to Think About, Problems to Solve (Answers) 176Some Useful Hints 178Dates on the Calendar 181When Engineers Get Together 183A Short Glossary of Technical Terms 192