Artificial Humans

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9 Metos tries to cover too much too briefly to give the depth needed for research on bionics, but Artificial Humans will serve as a springboard into the general topic. The history of each specific area is detailed in objective if optimistic language, and the future is predicted. Included are discussions of artificial limbs, organs, bones and joints, blood, skin, eyes and ears. Metos generally writes clearly, but he sometimes leaves statements unexplained (stating that an area of research holds promise without telling why) and he includes few case histories (Barney Clark, William Schroeder and Gary Coleman being celebrity exceptions). The illustrations are poorly reproduced and inadequately identified. Berger's Bionics (Watts, 1978; o.p.) presents much of the same material, incorporating case histories and including computers and robots. Students needing more in-depth information should turn to Gloria Skurzynski's Bionic Parts for People (Four Winds, 1978); although out of date on the artificial heart, it has excellent descriptions and illustrations of how various parts of the body and their bionic counterparts work. Artificial Humans is recommended for libraries needing additional material on bionics, although Skurzynski's work is still superior, if slightly dated. Joyce Adams Burner, formerly at Spring Hill Middle School, Kans.