Book reveals everything you ever wanted

to know about machines and more ...

THERE ARE times when the subject material of this column
has a kind of symmetry to it. There are connecting themes
which, however tenuously, bind together the parts which
comprise the whole. That no such link exists this week is

due entirely to the season.

Now, like anyone else who has
glanced at a calendar, my rational
self knows full well that the fall

- equinox is still a ways off but the
passing of Labour Day has always
signalled ‘autumn’ to this writer
and touched-off a marked change
in behavior.

Chief among the symptoms is a
deep restiessness that echoes
Nature’s own capriciousness. As
she darts back and forth between
sultry days and crisp nights so
does this reviewer's interest flit
from topic to topic, all drawing at-
tention briefly but not one able to
command absolute loyalty.

That at least is my excuse and
I’m sticking to it...

The first object of fickle fancy is
David Macaulay’s The Way Things
Work, a big, hardcovered bruiser
of a book that explains how hun-
dreds of modern-day devices
operate.

From lasers to parachutes, park-
ing meters to holograms, The Way
Things Work reveals the basic
principles behind the workings of
machines, tools and other con-
trivances that most of us take for
granted.

MIKE
STEELE

book review

How, for instance, do brakes
work? Or lawn sprinklers? Or
cameras? What enables an
airplane to fly or a ship to float?
What are the secrets of gun-
powder, body scanners, electron
microscopes or even the common
hammer?

Neutron bombs and nail clip-
pers, traffic lights and toasters,
zippers and xylophones — the

“topics Macaulay covers in The
Way Things Work (Thomas Allen
& Co.; $39.95) fill nearly 400
pages. :

What impressed this reviewer
most though was not the scope of
this amazing book but the clarity
and simplicity of Macaulay’s ex-
planations. Even those readers
who thought themselves com-
pletely mechanically inept will be
amazed at how easy the author
has made it to understand seem-
ingly complex concepts. Now
where was that section on type-
writers....

-_* ¢

The fove affair with Japan is
beginning to wither if the growing
list of books on Nipponese shori-
comings is any indication. The fat-
est edition of discontent is Ro
Thomas’ Japan ~ The Blight
Blossom (New Star; 299 pp.;
$25.95), a brilliant if sometimes
overbearing academic analysis of
this economic powerhouse and its
people.

Despite a leaden pace, Japan...
is a shocker. Thomas’ revelations
of the plight of the majority of the
Japanese and the flawed opinions
Westerners have constructed
about their industrial structure,
family ties, labor force and even
adherence to democracy are as-
tounding.

The picture painted by the
author is decidedly at odds with
popular mythology. Thomas’ book
seethes with documented proof of
corporate-political corruption,

repression of the workforce, sup-
pression of free enterprise by an
entrenched oligarchy and what
are, by our standards, the unac-
ceptable living standards of the
average Japanese.

The validity of any such exami-
nation as this of course depends

on the qualifications of the writer;
can Thomas speak with autiority
on Japan’s politics, sociology and
economy? ‘

Thomas is quite possibly one of
the few true experts on Japan. This
Canadian has not only spent niuch
of the past 27 years in that country
but studied Japanese history, liter-
ature and language at Tokyo’s
Waseda University and worked as
a researcher at the National Diet
(Parliamentary) Library.

The paradox of Japan - The
Blighted Blossom is that its
greatest strength is also its greatest
flaw, at least from the standpoint
of mainstream reading audiences.
This book is so replete with facts
and figures that it is mind-numbing
and yet it is this same attention to
detail that renders Thomas’ argu-
ments unassailable.

Japan - The Blighted Blossom is
essential reading for business
people, governments and others
who require accurate information
on this complex nation and its in-
habitants. The narrative may plod

along mercilessly but the objec-
tives make the arduous journey
worthwhile.

set

* Georges Simenon is not, | must
confess, one of my favorite authors
but this recently-deceased French
writer was undeniably one of the
most successful word-bashers of
alf time.

Born in 1903, the Belgian-born
Simenon became a reporter at 16
and had, by his death a short time
ago, published aver 305 titles in 47
languages with total sales of over
600,000,000.

Staggering, isn’t it? Could any
writer imagine, let alone aspire, to
such incredible popularity? Six
hundred million books certainly
awes the heck out of me.

in one of life's droll little coin-
cidences | was reading a new
release of one of Simenon’s vol-
umes when his death was an-
nounced. While | wish | could
report that this injection of poi-
gnaricy added a new dimension to
my appreciation of Simenon’s
work, such a claim would rate as a
hetter piece of fiction than the title
at hand.

Simenon is best-known for his
Inspector Maigret series but the
bulk of his work was composed of
what might be termed ‘slice of
life’ novels. Striptease is such a

one.
Published in 1957, Striptease
has just been reissued in hard-
cover by Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich (a fact overlooked by
news reports which much have
irked HBJ’s public relations divi-

sion no end).
The story of lower-echelon
strippers and their rather pathetic

_* 2

_
Your Choice
a Guinpenm LTR

The Affordable All
gyn Season Truck Radial
\ @S Come in and look ai .
PRS yi these incredible prices!
Us

Description
£T195/75R14
LT215/75R15
LT235/75R15
LT235/65R15
vaive Stem
insratiat or 875R16.5LT

Aoiaror
wp Raa Hazara

awrarsn? Q50R16.5LT =|
31X10.50R15LT

“ha
ai" paler ar viaraty
May w Tread tie
veasranty
BID0GAT

Wheel Alignment

As you can see, you can now help
extend your tire life at a great low price.
Come to Woolco and we will perform the
nexessary adjustments to help protect
your tire investment afong with
improving ride and handling. We will do
an 18 pt. inspection at no charge, 4
wheel alignment also avail. in some
. stores (extra charge). Call for verification

lives, Striptease is at least a good
example of the sparse prose that
was a Simenon trademark and

of over three decades.

95

Most Cars

Seat Covers
Save $8

Protect your car's
interior with high or !ow
back bucket seat
covers! Blue, grey,
burgundy, camel or tan.

Selected Car Waxes

50% OFF

Rain Dance Liquid 475 mi, reg. 7.49
Biue Poly Liquid 475 ml, reg. 7.99
Blue Poly Paste 350 mi, reg. 8.96
Simoniz ll Paste 350 ml, reg. 5.76
Simoniz Original Paste 225 g, reg. 4.76
Turtie Hydro Zip Wax 950 mi, reg. 9.96
Super Gloss 480 ml, reg. 19.

—— — rusty

Saie 3.75
Sale 4.00
Sale 4.48
Sale 2.88
Sale 2.38
Sale 4.93
Sale 9.00

both story and setting seem sur-
prisingly undated by the passage

=| Air Cond. $7.00 extra
Have A-—.,

COURTESY UD
COFFEE
OnUs