“Making is a new word for perhaps the oldest human endeavor—and there has never been a better time in history to be a maker than right now. Dale Dougherty is largely responsible for that. He proselytizes, he gathers makers together, and he shows us new roads, new landscapes, new philosophies of making. He prods us to new heights, and when all else fails, he keeps writing the best books on the subject. Dale is a maker’s maker.”—Adam Savage, cohost of Mythbusters
“Part manifesto, part guidebook, the book is a good primer for beginners and interested DIY types and might offer some new ideas for those already involved in the current boom of makerspaces in libraries, schools, and other community centers.”—Booklist
“A wonderful analysis and celebration of what it means to be a maker and how important it is for our future.”—Carl Bass, maker and CEO of Autodesk
“Every movement needs its founders and its storytellers. In Dale Dougherty, the Maker Movement has both. In Free to Make, Dougherty tells us about the history, people, and projects that animate this movement. Importantly, he shows us how making can change the education of our youth and even lead them to make a better world.”—Milton Chen, author of Education Nation; Senior Fellow, George Lucas Educational Foundation
“This deeply insightful book highlights the profound role that the Maker Movement is playing in catalyzing and shaping a new Big Shift that will transform our economy and society. We are transitioning from passive consumers to active makers, driven by a desire to learn and achieve greater impact, and in the process rediscovering our humanity. If you want to understand where we are headed as a global society and why this is such a promising direction, this compelling and exciting book is a must-read.”—John Hagel, founder and cochairman, Deloitte Center for the Edge
“Free to Make captures what it means to be human: to imagine, question, create, reflect, and try again. It’s about making your own experiences matter and sharing them in ways that help make the world a changed place over time.”—Mike Petrich and Karen Wilkinson, authors of The Art of Tinkering
“Free to Make is a comprehensive treatise on everything Maker. A leader of the Maker Movement since its inception, Dale Dougherty describes the roots of the movement and gives great examples of how it is changing lives and changing society. Free to Make answers the very important question: In today’s society, where we can buy anything, why make? A must-read for any maker or anyone interested in becoming one.”—Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel
This is a truly inspiring book by one of the great progenitors of the Maker Movement both here in USA and the world at large. Said most simply, we think with our hands as well as our heads—something we have forgotten in most of our current schooling. Free to Make provides a way to reach the many of us that find learning by sitting in a school room so boring. A sense of agency is the key to learning, and making things is a route to agency.—John Seely Brown, former chief scientist, Xerox Corp and former director of Xerox PARC; coauthor of A New Culture of Learning and The Power of Pull
“Free to Make is a profound and joyful journey through a movement that is at once historical and profoundly contemporary. Imbued with sixties’ sensibilities that give rise to creative acts of genius, whimsy, and passion, this book explores the ways in which the Maker Movement nurtures that irrepressible human desire to create and inspire others.”—Margaret Honey, president and CEO of New York Hall of Science
