A very basic introduction to major, well-known inventors from the early 20th century. This would be more interesting with some unique graphics or photographs, or some lesser known figures. For the average reader who can handle dense text, there's no new information here.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Rosen Publishing Group for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
This is a short book with an overview of some of the great men inventors of this time period. Each little section focuses on a new inventor. It is written at a beginner level, with just basic information. I knew some of the inventors, but I did go on Google to explore some of the inventors that were new to me. I would have liked to see some information about some of the women who were working on scientific breakthroughs at this time, but maybe that is for another book. A good book if you are just starting to learn about some of the major inventions of this time.

Thanks to Britannica Educational Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily

This book is part of a series of important people throughout history. This volume concentrates on inventions of the first half of the 20th century. Featured are Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers and Walt Disney. Also featured are Marconi, DeForest and Armstrong, who were instrumental in the overall invention of radio. What I wish this book would have done was to try and make it more diverse because with one exception, it’s just a bunch of white guys. That’s right–no women, and only one person of color. And the majority of the men featured already have had tons of books written about them. I’m curious to read more books in the series to see if they are more inclusive or if they’re all like this.

This is a kid's book written mostly at the junior high level, with the occasional $5 word dropped in for some reason (missed by the editor?). The bios read like dictionary entries for some subjects, and encyclopedia entries for others - the latter could be copied for book reports. There is some sloppiness, such as statements like "he continued this until his death" with no date of death given. Overall it's a decent intro for the target audience, but not the last word on its subjects by any means.

I really liked the format of this book, and was excited to see that there was an entire series going back as far as the paleolithic era! I could really use collective biographies like this in my middle school libraries as a way to help students think about different people they might want to research, or to give them an additional source.

However, I would have liked to see inventors that don't already have a lot of books about them. The Wright brothers, Disney, Marconi... so many of these inventors already have a ton of books about them. This was also not as diverse as I would have liked, with no women, and only Robert Goddard as a man of color. I would have loved to see Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Mary Anderson, Marion Donovan, or even Ruth Wakefield. We couldn't have transported Birdseyes products as easily without Frederick McKinley Jones' refrigerated trucks!

Also, bold choice going with Ford on the cover.