Makers

The New Industrial Revolution

By: Chris Anderson

Narrated by: René Ruiz

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Wired magazine editor and best-selling author Chris Anderson takes you to the front lines of a new industrial revolution as today’s entrepreneurs, using open source design and 3-D printing, bring manufacturing to the desktop. In an age of custom-fabricated, do-it-yourself product design and creation, the collective potential of a million garage tinkerers and enthusiasts is about to be unleashed, driving a resurgence of American manufacturing. A generation of "Makers" using the Web’s innovation model will help drive the next big wave in the global economy, as the new technologies of digital design and rapid prototyping gives everyone the power to invent - creating "the long tail of things".

©2012 Chris Anderson (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Chris understands that the owners of the means of production get to decide what is produced. And now you're the owner. This book will change your life, whether you read it or not, so I suggest you get in early." (Seth Godin, best-selling author of Tribes and Purple Cow)

"A visionary preview of the next technological revolution. If you want to know where the future is headed, start here." (Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0)

"Makers is must read for understanding the transformative changes that are shaping, and will shape, the future of inventing." (Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality)

Enjoyable and thought provoking

I really enjoyed the behind the scenes stories of several startups that became tech giants. I’m an engineer with a passion for making, so I found the book inspiration and entertaining. Probably not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

A must buy

This is one of a few audible titles that hasn't disappointed me. Plenty of great examples and insights into the near "Future" .

Guide to Mind over Matter.

"There is no there, there" is a phrase that was sometimes used in describing cyberspace in the 1980's. The thought of a world of virtual things was uncomfortable for those us who were brought up in a world with black and white TV. However, we pushed the development of computers and communications where virtual things are commonplace.

Chris outlines the state of the virtual becoming real again, bits to atoms. It reminds me of the many books and articles produced in the late 80's about the changes that communications would bring. The speed and impact of those changes were under estimated. Perhaps we are underestimating the impact of the new Makers today.

Highly recommend this book for both engineers and Washington DC policy wonks who want to get a leg up on where we as creators are going.

He Gets the Economics Right

What did you love best about Makers?

I liked the anecdotes and examples from recent history best.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how well versed the author was on the relevant economics.

no more overalls

Fascinating survey of how the world of bits has impacted product design and manufacturing. Loved one of the soundbites: "barriers to entry are now ankle high."

Perfect book

Really resourceful , the missing star is for the lack of updates , it seems that a generation has passed in the last years and I would have really satisfied if the book’s content was updated accordingly.

Make it happen! Great overview of maker hobbies

Make it happen! Great overview of maker hobbies and resources available to everyone. Very good for most age groups

Most Excellent for the Maker Startup Communiy

Would you consider the audio edition of Makers to be better than the print version?

I always start with the audio version of a book and then if desired for reference I purchase the book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Makers?

The description of maker resources around the world.

Which character – as performed by Rene Ruiz – was your favorite?

The 3D Printers

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Make the World

a bit outdated now

this is a good story for grandparents in the year 2019. I'd you're younger than 40 and at all interested in tech and startups, you are probably already aware of most of this stuff if not all of it.

Decomcratization of Manufacturing

Are you interested in the future of small business and manufacturing in the US? Do you want to know what is happening on the cutting edge of design technology? Do you know what 3-D printing, digital fabrication and the makers are? Then Chris Anderson’s introduction titled Makers: The New Industrial Revolution will bring you up short for sure. Anderson (The Long Tail; Free: How Today’s Smartest Businesses Profit by Giving Something for Nothing) is the editor of Wired Magazine who will guide you through the brave new technological world that is pushing us into the future. He opens with an introduction to the invention revolution and how it is contributing to the new industrial revolution. He explains how design and manufacturing are changing the face of the economy and how desktop factories linked to open hardware are driving that revolution. His description of 3-D printing is worth the price of the book to the unfamiliar. He clearly introduces computer numerical control, G-code and its importance, and software like CAD and its use. Those who despair for the US economy and manufacturing there is hope, for Anderson tells how custom batch work can well come home. Some may find Anderson’s approach a bit Pollyannaish, simplistic, or overly optimistic, but there is still much here to stimulate thinking and inform readers. This is a good book readily available to the nontechnical type just interested. The reading of Rene Ruiz is excellent.