How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World

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Description

From the New York Times–bestselling writer of Where Good Ideas Come From and Everything Bad Is Good for You, a new look at the power and legacy of great ideas.

In this illustrated history, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a couple of) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes—from the French publisher who invented the phonograph before Edison but forgot to include playback, to the Hollywood movie star who helped invent the technology at the back of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth—How We Got to Now investigates the name of the game history at the back of the on a regular basis objects of recent life.
 
In his trademark style, Johnson examines unexpected connections between seemingly unrelated fields: how the invention of air-conditioning enabled the largest migration of human beings in the history of the species—to cities such as Dubai or Phoenix, which would another way be virtually uninhabitable; how pendulum clocks helped trigger the industrial revolution; and how clean water made it imaginable to manufacture computer chips. Accompanied by a major six-part tv series on PBS, How We Got to Now is the story of collaborative networks building the modern world, written in the provocative, informative, and engaging style that has earned Johnson fans all over the world.

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