Where Good Ideas Come from: The Natural History of Innovation - Softcover

Johnson, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594485380 ISBN 13: 9781594485381

Publisher: Riverhead Books, 2011

Synopsis

A fascinating deep dive on innovation from the New York Times bestselling author of How We Got To Now and Farsighted

The printing press, the pencil, the flush toilet, the battery--these are all great ideas. But where do they come from? What kind of environment breeds them? What sparks the flash of brilliance? How do we generate the breakthrough technologies that push forward our lives, our society, our culture? Steven Johnson's answers are revelatory as he identifies the seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and traces them across time and disciplines. From Darwin and Freud to the halls of Google and Apple, Johnson investigates the innovation hubs throughout modern time and pulls out the approaches and commonalities that seem to appear at moments of originality.

About this title

Review:

"[A] rich, integrated and often sparkling book. Mr. Johnson, who knows a thing or two about the history of science, is a first-rate storyteller."--"The New York Times"

"A vision of innovation and ideas that is resolutely social, dynamic and material...Fluidly written, entertaining and smart without being arcane."--"Los Angeles Times"

"A magical mystery tour of the history and architecture of innovation."--"The Oregonian"

"A rapid-fire tour of 'spaces' large, small, mental, physical, and otherwise... Where Good Ideas Come From may be the ultimate distillation of his thinking on these issues... One admires the intellectual athleticism of Johnson's maneuvers here."--"Boston Globe"

About the Author:

Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of Future Perfect, Where Good Ideas Come From, The Invention of Air, The Ghost Map, and Everything Bad is Good for You, and is the editor of The Innovator's Cookbook. He is the founder of a variety of influential websites and writes for Time, Wired, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Marin County, California, with his wife and three sons.

About this edition

• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1594485380
• ISBN 13: 9781594485381
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344