How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World

How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World

By Steven Johnson

This adaptation of Johnson's "New York Times"-bestselling 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.

READ FULL DESCRIPTION

Quantity Price Discount
List Price $30.00  
1 - 24 $25.50 15%
25 - 99 $18.60 38%
100 - 249 $18.00 40%
250 - 499 $17.40 42%
500 + $17.10 43%

Quick Quote

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit

Non-returnable discount pricing

$30.00


Book Information

Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publish Date: 09/30/2014
Pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9781594632969
ISBN-10: 1594632960
Language: English

What We're Saying

December 09, 2014

The 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards category winners (and shortlist for the best book of the year) 2014. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

November 13, 2014

The culling process we undertake during the awards process is always rigorous, but we've narrowed it down to 40 books—5 each in 8 categories. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

November 12, 2014

To wrap up our Thinker in Residence series, Nicholas Carr answers a few quick questions on business and books. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

November 10, 2014

Nicholas Carr

By Porchlight

In The Glass Cage Nicholas Carr asks us to reconsider how automation is affecting how we experience our life and work. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

October 27, 2014

Friday Links

By Porchlight

The vast majority of articles about startups and innovation focus on Silicon Valley. Today we look at two innovators far removed from the typical incubators. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

September 12, 2014

Not many writers can craft an engaging 250 page book around seemingly mundane subjects such as glass and freezing, but Steven Johnson can. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

January 20, 2015

Kevin Ashton

By Porchlight

There are no secrets. When we ask writers about their process or scientists about their methods or inventors where they got their ideas from... READ FULL DESCRIPTION

January 06, 2016

It's been another record year for us here at 800-CEO-READ. These are the books we moved the most in 2015. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

Full Description

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!

About the Author

Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of eleven books, including Where Good Ideas Come From , Wonderland , and Extra Life. He's the host and co-creator of the Emmy-winning PBS/BBC series How We Got To Now , and the host of the podcast American Innovations.

Learn More

We have updated our privacy policy. Click here to read our full policy.