The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation - Hardcover

Gertner, Jon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594203288 ISBN 13: 9781594203282

Publisher: Penguin, 2013

Synopsis

A sweeping, atmospheric history of Bell Labs that highlights its unparalleled role as an incubator of innovation and birthplace of the century's most influential technologies. Bell Laboratories, which thrived from the 1920s to the 1980s, was the most innovative and productive institution of the twentieth century. Long before America's brightest scientific minds began migrating west to Silicon Valley, they flocked to this sylvan campus in the New Jersey suburbs built and funded by AT&T. At its peak, Bell Labs employed nearly fifteen thousand people, twelve hundred of whom had PhDs. Thirteen would go on to win Nobel prizes. It was a citadel of science and scholarship as well as a hotbed of creative thinking. It was, in effect, a factory of ideas whose workings have remained largely hidden until now. "New York Times Magazine" writer Jon Gertner unveils the unique magic of Bell Labs through the eyes and actions of its scientists. These ingenious, often eccentric men would become revolutionaries, and sometimes legends, whether for inventing radio astronomy in their spare time (and on the company's dime), riding unicycles through the corridors, or pioneering the principles that propel today's technology. In these pages, we learn how radar came to be, and lasers, transistors, satellites, mobile phones, and much more. Even more important, Gertner reveals the forces that set off this explosion of creativity. Bell Labs combined the best aspects of the academic and corporate worlds, hiring the brightest and usually the youngest minds, creating a culture and even an architecture that forced employees in different fields to work together, in virtually complete intellectual freedom, with little pressure to create moneymaking innovations. In Gertner's portrait, we come to understand why both researchers and business leaders look to Bell Labs as a model and long to incorporate its magic into their own work. Written with a novelist's gift for pacing and an ability to convey the thri

About this title

Review:

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name: "Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-fareast-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: #0400;} "A timely and important book. More than just the fascinating story of the amazing innovations and colorful innovators of Bell Labs, "The Idea Factory" gives incredible insight into the ways in which Bell Labs not only invented the future but invented new ways of invention. In a time when America needs innovation more than ever this book is a pleasurable read for innovators, but a must read for those who wish to excel at fostering innovation." ----Bill Joy, Partner and Greentech Investor, KPCB "[F]ascinating history...the re--Slate Book Review [F]illed with colorful characters and inspiring lessons..."The Idea Factory" explores one of the most critical issues of our time: What causes innovation? Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review Riveting Mr. Gertner s portraits of Kelly and the cadre of talented scientists who worked at Bell Labs are animated by a journalistic ability to make their discoveries and inventions utterly comprehensible indeed, thrilling to the lay reader. And they showcase, too, his novelistic sense of character and intuitive understanding of the odd ways in which clashing or compatible personalities can combine to foster intensely creative collaborations. Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times" One of the best innovation-focused books I've read: It's a wide-ranging, detailed, and deeply fascinating look at the New Jersey lab which has been churning out useful discoveries since the early 1900s. "The Boston Globe" Compelling Gertner's book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a society should best invest its research resources. The Wall Street Journal [F]ascinating history the research behind "The Idea Factory" is astonishing. "Slate BookReview" [A]n expansive new history does an impressive job of illuminating many of Bell Labs key technological triumphs. "Wired.com" Gertner provides a view of American research and development that will take engineers, scientists, and managers back to the golden age of invention in the U.S . Gertner follows these odd and brilliant thinkers to the end of Bell Labs in the 1980s and to their own ends, providing readers with insight into management, creativity, and engineering that remain applicable today. "Publishers Weekly" (Starred Review) "Remarkably well researched, lucidly written."" The SeattleTimes" Gertner handles the experimentation descriptions with elegance and clarity, while proving even more engaging with his profiles of leading Bell lights. " NewarkStar Ledger" "Gertner reveals the complicated humanity at work behind the scenes and provides unprecedented insight on some of history's most important scientific and technological advances. Packed with anecdotes and trivia and written in clear and compelling prose, this story of a cutting-edge and astonishingly robust intellectual era and one not without its controversies and treachery is immensely enjoyable. "Kirkus"" "Gertner reveals the complicated humanity at work behind the scenes and provides unprecedented insight on some of history's most important scientific and technological advances. Packed with anecdotes and trivia and written in clear and compelling prose, this story of a cutting-edge and astonishingly robust intellectual era--and one not without its controversies and treachery--is immensely enjoyable."--"Kirkus" "Gertner handles the experimentation descriptions with elegance and clarity, while proving even more engaging with his profiles of leading Bell lights.""--Newark Star Ledger" "Remarkably well researched, lucidly written.""--The Seattle Times" "Gertner provides a view of American research and development that will take engineers, scientists, and managers back to the golden age of invention in the U.S.... Gertner follows these odd and brilliant thinkers to the end of Bell Labs in the 1980s and to their own ends, providing readers with insight into management, creativity, and engineering that remain applicable today."--"Publishers Weekly" (Starred Review) "[A]n expansive new history...does an impressive job of illuminating many of Bell Labs' key technological triumphs."--"Wired.com" "[F]ascinating history...the research behind "The Idea Factory" is astonishing."--"Slate Book Review" "Compelling... Gertner's book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a society should best invest its research resources."--The Wall Street Journal "One of the best innovation-focused books I've read: It's a wide-ranging, detailed, and deeply fascinating look at the New Jersey lab which has been churning out useful discoveries since the early 1900s."--"The Boston Globe" "Riveting... Mr. Gertner's portraits of Kelly and the cadre of talented scientists who worked at Bell Labs are animated by a journalistic ability to make their discoveries and inventions utterly comprehensible -- indeed, thrilling -- to the lay reader. And they showcase, too, his novelistic sense of character and intuitive understanding of the odd ways in which clashing or compatible personalities can combine to foster intensely creative collaborations."--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times" "[F]illed with colorful characters and inspiring lessons..."The Idea Factory" explores one of the most critical issues of our time: What causes innovation?"--Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review "Remarkably well researched, lucidly written."--The Seattle Times

About the Author:

Jon Gertner grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey just a few hundred yards away from Bell Labs. He has been a writer for the" New York Times Magazine "since 2004 and is currently an editor at "Fast Company" magazine. He lives in New Jersey, with his wife and two children."

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1594203288
• ISBN 13: 9781594203282
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432