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)

Great for understanding the maker movement

Would you listen to Makers again? Why?

If I were to start my own maker business I sure would, but otherwise as a consumer, the information comes across as "here's what you need to know", and thus has limited replay value.

Would you recommend Makers to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, it's a very helpful book to understand the way modern manufacturing and production is being changed by the internet and democratization of factories. Leaves you with a sense of capability and motivation to make something.

Did Rene Ruiz do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, it was easy to tell who was doing what. There weren't that many characters besides a few references, but each one was differentiated well enough.

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

"People Power, Printers, and Production"

Any additional comments?

Great for introducing others to the maker movement, but as somebody that's already been fairly caught up, some of the material was a bit redundant and less useful once you already get the gist of the topic.

Builds on previous books, bit by bit.

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

Anderson mentions Ponoko a number of times in the book but when I went looking for them online I didn't know how to spell their name. That meant I had to do some searching. There is an appendix at the end of the book that would be so much better as a printed resource.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

3D printers are going to become common place. That along with digital design tools are going to increase the speed of innovation.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was inspired by this book to source a 3D printer. I'm now looking at building the business case for buying one.

Any additional comments?

This book can get a bit repetitive. I flew through the first 3/4 of the book. The last section seemed a little further from the core premise and didn't seem to flow as well.

A very good book about the future unfolding today

Chris Anderson is a great storyteller and her managed to put together a compelling case on how the democratization of the told to make objects can fundamentally change our economy and society. The first hand accounts make the book more valuable. The only downside is obvious, in a field moving so fast, a 2012 book already started to feel a bit dated. While there was no way for the author to prevent it, an updated edition might be in order.

Insight and foresight

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Chris Andersen has been accurate in the past with uncovering important phenomena associated with technology advancement, consumer demand and general business economics i.e. the long tail. I think he is very right again with the potential impact of custom fabrication and DIY design and manufacturing. He brings his ideas to light with many relevant examples.

What other book might you compare Makers to and why?

It does for manufacturing and design what "The Long Tail" did for retail.
Also has similarities to "Wikinomics" by Don Tapscot.

What does Rene Ruiz bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Not much. Pretty standard narration.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. It just made me think.

Any additional comments?

Great for entrepreneurs thinking about finding an opportunity in an emerging wave of change.

Strong Introduction to the Maker Movement

I tackled this book in two parts. The reason I tackled it in two parts was that I had lost interest halfway through. It got boring, some of the topics got old. Upon picking it up again I was glad I did. If you read or listen to this book prepare to be inspired. There is a little "maker" in all of us. This book might just help you unleash it.

Outstanding. Educational and fun.

The narrator is able to keep the.momento going, even when the story line is dull.

Excellent Account of the Maker Phenomena

Definitely worth the time and money. If you have time to read one book on the subject this is the one.

A new revolution in the 'making'?

Chris Anderson is widely known and respected for his editing of Wired Magazines and a few well-known books about the internet (long tail, freemium) which altered the way people see the internet. He now tries to do the same for the world of 'making'.

First he outlines what he describes as 'the maker revolution': the possibility of every individual to design, create and manufacture single or low-volume products due to new technology and the power of the global internet community. Anderson then goes on to detail each of these steps, with an emphasis on 3D printers and other manufacturing tools.

I particularly liked the various stories and applications, but overall the book is a bit thin on content. The maker revolution seems to be very much in its infancy, with interesting concepts and a few hits, but mostly still too complicated and too much in the hobby-stage (DIY) which it might never outgrow. That means there is definitely a market for home-manufacturing, but technology needs to advance further to make it a mass trend. Anderson says so himself. This doesn't mean it will not happen, it is just too early to tell.

Anderson ends the book with a lot of references: the best electronics, best software, best hardware, best outsourced manufacturing and websites. This is nice for starters (like me), but is still a bit limited, particularly if you live outside the US.

Why read this book? It describes the beginnings of what someday might be big, and the signs are described well enough so you can spot whether it will or will not materialize. Best parts are about how 'regular manufacturing' could use the concepts, tools and community of the internet to improve its own process of innovation and reproduction.

But don't expect deep insights or a strong story. It is a nice book, but not special.

Starts slow but gets better

Any additional comments?

The book attempts to cover all the bases from the person that knows nothing about "making" to the one who is an expert maker. IMO, that's too much ground. I was bored the first six chapters and almost gave up on the book but then it got much better toward the end. Even so, its so much information I doubt many people will remember much from the book in audio format. It may be better as a hard copy reference book.

A Glimpse Into the Future

I've listened to all of Chris Anderson's books, and they are always interesting and thought provoking. He also writes with great flow, meaning that the story moves forward in a logical and engaging way without a lot of unnecessary repetition.

This book is the logical culmination of taking the Long Tail from the world of bits to the world of atoms. Anderson's insights regarding new manufacturing techniques (mainly 3D printing) and their widespread availability to the masses are important. Anderson always approaches things from an open source point of view, and I don't entirely agree with that (neither for that matter would Steve Jobs). The methods of monetizing open source largely remain to be discovered and proven.

All that said, this is an important and very interesting book. Anyone who works in the manufacturing field should read it.