The Impossible Dream: The spectacular rise and fall of Steorn, the Celtic Tiger's most audacious start-up - Softcover

Barry Whyte

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0717188043 ISBN 13: 9780717188048

Publisher: Gill Books, 2020

Synopsis

In 2006, a previously unknown Irish technology company by the name of Steorn created headlines globally when it took out a full-page ad in The Economist, in which it claimed to have made the scientific breakthrough of this – or any other century: perpetual motion, nothing less than a complete and immediate solution to the global energy crisis.

The investment money poured in, with some of Ireland’s most respected entrepreneurs and institutions getting on board, but the demonstration was a spectacular failure. So how did so many well-meaning and otherwise sensible people get things so desperately, absurdly wrong? The story begins with a malfunctioning CCTV system and ends with an exploding battery, and it drives home Ireland’s frenzied state of mind during the Celtic Tiger years.

'A compelling and frequently bizarre read' The Sunday Times (Ireland Edition)

'While there is some technical jargon and deep dives of company documents to wade through, The Impossible Dream is for the most part an easy-to-read yarn that firmly places the ascent and crash of Steorn within the context of the Celtic Tiger era.' Irish Times

The Steorn story is fascinating, although it sometimes feels like the equivalent of rubber-necking at a car accident as you drive slowly by; it’s excruciating, but you can’t turn away from what is essentially a parable for our times. The Business Post

An extraordinary story and a fascinating book Pat Kenny

About this title

About the Author

Barry J. Whyte is an award-winning journalist and author. He is currently Chief Features Writer for the Business Post.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gill Books
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0717188043
• ISBN 13: 9780717188048
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272