Did you drink a glass of water today? Did you turn on a light? Did you
think about how miraculous either one of those things is when you did
it? Of course not--but you should, and New York Times bestselling
author Steven Johnson has. This adaptation of his adult book and popular
PBS series explores the fascinating and interconnected stories of
innovations--like clean drinking water and electricity--that changed the
way people live.
Innovation starts with a problem whose solution sets in motion all kinds
of unexpected discoveries. That's why you can draw a line from pendulums
to punching the clock at a factory, from ice blocks to summer movie
blockbusters, from clean water to computer chips.
In the lively storytelling style that has made him a popular,
bestselling author, Steven Johnson looks at how accidental genius,
brilliant mistakes, and unintended consequences shape the way we live in
the modern world. Johnson's long zoom approach connects history,
geography, politics, and scientific advances with the deep curiousity of
inventors or quirky interests of tinkerers to show how innovation truly
comes about.
His fascinating account is organized into six topics: glass, cold,
sound, clean, time, light. Johnson's fresh exploration of these simple,
single-syllable word concepts creates an endlessly absorbing story that
moves from lightning strikes in the prehistoric desert to the herculean
effort to literally raise up the city of Chicago to laser labs straight
out of a sci-fi movie.
In other words, it's the story of how we got to now!
