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The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner
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The Idea Factory

Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

By Jon Gertner

By Jon Gertner

By Jon Gertner

By Jon Gertner

Best Seller
Paperback $19.00

Feb 26, 2013 | ISBN 9780143122791

Ebook $9.99

Mar 15, 2012 | ISBN 9781101561089

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    The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner
    Paperback $19.00
    Feb 26, 2013 | ISBN 9780143122791

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    • Paperback $19.00

      Feb 26, 2013 | ISBN 9780143122791

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      Mar 15, 2012 | ISBN 9781101561089

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    About The Idea Factory

    The definitive history of America’s greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th century’s most influential technologies

    “Filled 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

    “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

    From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it’s hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn’t been touched by Bell Labs. In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century’s most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men-Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker-who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born.

    About The Idea Factory

    The definitive history of America’s greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th century’s most influential technologies

    “Filled 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

    “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

    From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it’s hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn’t been touched by Bell Labs. In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century’s most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men-Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker-who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born.

    Also by Jon Gertner

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    About Jon Gertner

    Jon Gertner is a journalist and historian whose stories on science, technology, and nature have appeared in a host of national magazines. Since 2003 he has worked mainly as a feature writer for The New York Times Magazine. His first… More about Jon Gertner

    About Jon Gertner

    Jon Gertner is a journalist and historian whose stories on science, technology, and nature have appeared in a host of national magazines. Since 2003 he has worked mainly as a feature writer for The New York Times Magazine. His first… More about Jon Gertner

    Product Details

    Category: Business | Technology | 20th Century U.S. History

    Paperback | $19.00
    Published by Penguin Books
    Feb 26, 2013 | 432 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-7/16 | ISBN 9780143122791

    Category: Business | Technology | 20th Century U.S. History

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Penguin Books
    Mar 15, 2012 | 432 Pages | ISBN 9781101561089

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    Praise

    “Filled 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

    “Fascinating 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

    “An expansive new history . . . does an impressive job of illuminating many of Bell Labs’ key technological triumphs.” —Wired.com

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