Machines in Motion

A detailed history of how many of the world’s most recognizable modes of transportation came to be.

Every day, all over the world, people travel: short trips or great voyages, moving slowly and steadily or racing along at super-fast speeds. They make their trips in cars, trains, planes, ships and on bikes—and some people have even blasted off in rockets! But how did these vehicles become what we know now?

With intricately illustrated timelines, this book takes readers on a journey through the developmental history of various modes of transportation—from chariots to electric cars, dugout canoes to ocean liners, cable cars to bullet trains, and the many iterations in between. The fascinating stories behind each of these machines join together to reveal a comprehensive history of how new and inventive forms of transportation have built off one another to change our world.