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How We Got to Now
- Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
- Narrated by: Steven Johnson
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
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How We Got to Now
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Publisher's Summary
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 best-selling 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, best-selling 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 explain 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!
Critic Reviews
“You’re apt to find yourself exhilarated...Johnson is not composing an etiology of particular inventions, but doing something broader and more imaginative.... I particularly like the cultural observations Johnson draws along the way...[he] has a deft and persuasive touch...[a] graceful and compelling book.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“Johnson is a polymath.... [It’s] exhilarating to follow his unpredictable trains of thought. To explain why some ideas upend the world, he draws upon many disciplines: chemistry, social history, geography, even ecosystem science.” (Los Angeles Times)
“Steven Johnson is a maven of the history of ideas...How We Got to Now is readable, entertaining, and a challenge to any jaded sensibility that has become inured to the everyday miracles all around us.” (The Guardian)
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-16-19
Thank you
Thank you again Steve for wonderful story. I love your work. Looking forward to your next book.
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Story4 out of 5 stars 169
Best-selling author Steven Johnson recounts - in dazzling, multidisciplinary fashion - the story of the brilliant man who embodied the relationship between science, religion, and politics for America's Founding Fathers. The Invention of Air is a title of world-changing ideas wrapped around a compelling narrative, a story of genius and violence and friendship in the midst of sweeping historical change that provokes us to recast our understanding of the Founding Fathers.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good scientific history
- By Roger on 05-03-10
By: Steven Johnson
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The Disappearing Spoon: Young Listeners Edition
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, greed, betrayal, and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow elements on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great stories for science lovers!
- By Emmilie on 09-22-20
By: Sam Kean
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Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition
- By: Margot Lee Shetterly
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 237
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 235
This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly’s acclaimed book is perfect for young students. It's the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent for everyone to read
- By R. Robinson on 06-25-19
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Calling All Minds
- How to Think and Create Like an Inventor
- By: Temple Grandin
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson, Temple Grandin
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 9
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Have you ever wondered what makes a kite fly or a boat float? Have you ever thought about why snowflakes are symmetrical, or why golf balls have dimples? Have you ever tried to make a kaleidoscope or build a pair of stilts? In Calling All Minds, Temple Grandin explores the ideas behind all of those questions and more. She delves into the science behind inventions, the steps various people took to create and improve upon ideas as they evolved, and the ways in which young inventors can continue to think about and understand what it means to tinker, to fiddle, and to innovate.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Clear and inspiring
- By PaulC on 12-12-22
By: Temple Grandin
Related to this topic
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How We Got to Now
- Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
- By: Steven Johnson
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,846
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,606
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,598
In this volume, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes - from the French publisher who invented the phonograph before Edison but forgot to include playback, to the Hollywood movie star who helped invent the technology behind Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
cool title, unexceptional content
- By Andy on 10-10-14
By: Steven Johnson
-
Unstoppable
- Harnessing Science to Change the World
- By: Bill Nye
- Narrated by: Bill Nye
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,576
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,373
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,356
Just as World War II called an earlier generation to greatness, so the climate crisis is calling today's rising youth to action: to create a better future. In Unstoppable, Bill Nye crystallizes and expands the message for which he is best known and beloved. That message is that with a combination of optimism and scientific curiosity, all obstacles become opportunities, and the possibilities of our world become limitless.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Couldn't stop listening!
- By Kevin Lewis on 11-12-15
By: Bill Nye
-
Physics of the Future
- How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
- By: Michio Kaku
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,243
In Physics of the Future, Michio Kaku - the New York Times best-selling author of Physics of the Impossible - gives us a stunning, provocative, and exhilarating vision of the coming century based on interviews with over 300 of the world’s top scientists who are already inventing the future in their labs. The result is the most authoritative and scientifically accurate description of revolutionary developments taking place....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Content, Irritating Reader
- By Dirk Turgid on 12-15-11
By: Michio Kaku
-
How We'll Live on Mars
- By: Stephen Petranek
- Narrated by: Stephen Petranek
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 273
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 224
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 222
Award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek says humans will live on Mars by 2027. Now he makes the case that living on Mars is not just plausible, but inevitable. It sounds like science fiction, but Stephen Petranek considers it fact: Within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. We'll need to. In this sweeping, provocative book that mixes business, science, and human reporting, Petranek makes the case that living on Mars is an essential back-up plan for humanity and explains in fascinating detail just how it will happen.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Watch Mars on NatGeo
- By Nathaniel on 12-01-16
By: Stephen Petranek
-
Beyond Earth
- Our Path to a New Home in the Planets
- By: Charles Wohlforth, Amanda R. Hendrix Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 64
In Beyond Earth, the authors offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars but Titan - a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere, a weather cycle, and an inexhaustible supply of cheap energy, where we will be able to fly like birds in the minimal gravitational field - offers the most realistic and thrilling prospect of life without support from Earth.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Wanna-be science fiction by cranks, for cranks
- By James on 03-20-17
By: Charles Wohlforth, and others
-
Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
OTHER WORLDS
- By CHET YARBROUGH on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
-
How We Got to Now
- Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
- By: Steven Johnson
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,846
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,606
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,598
In this volume, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes - from the French publisher who invented the phonograph before Edison but forgot to include playback, to the Hollywood movie star who helped invent the technology behind Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
cool title, unexceptional content
- By Andy on 10-10-14
By: Steven Johnson
-
Unstoppable
- Harnessing Science to Change the World
- By: Bill Nye
- Narrated by: Bill Nye
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,576
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,373
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,356
Just as World War II called an earlier generation to greatness, so the climate crisis is calling today's rising youth to action: to create a better future. In Unstoppable, Bill Nye crystallizes and expands the message for which he is best known and beloved. That message is that with a combination of optimism and scientific curiosity, all obstacles become opportunities, and the possibilities of our world become limitless.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Couldn't stop listening!
- By Kevin Lewis on 11-12-15
By: Bill Nye
-
Physics of the Future
- How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
- By: Michio Kaku
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,243
In Physics of the Future, Michio Kaku - the New York Times best-selling author of Physics of the Impossible - gives us a stunning, provocative, and exhilarating vision of the coming century based on interviews with over 300 of the world’s top scientists who are already inventing the future in their labs. The result is the most authoritative and scientifically accurate description of revolutionary developments taking place....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Content, Irritating Reader
- By Dirk Turgid on 12-15-11
By: Michio Kaku
-
How We'll Live on Mars
- By: Stephen Petranek
- Narrated by: Stephen Petranek
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 273
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 224
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 222
Award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek says humans will live on Mars by 2027. Now he makes the case that living on Mars is not just plausible, but inevitable. It sounds like science fiction, but Stephen Petranek considers it fact: Within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. We'll need to. In this sweeping, provocative book that mixes business, science, and human reporting, Petranek makes the case that living on Mars is an essential back-up plan for humanity and explains in fascinating detail just how it will happen.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Watch Mars on NatGeo
- By Nathaniel on 12-01-16
By: Stephen Petranek
-
Beyond Earth
- Our Path to a New Home in the Planets
- By: Charles Wohlforth, Amanda R. Hendrix Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 64
In Beyond Earth, the authors offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars but Titan - a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere, a weather cycle, and an inexhaustible supply of cheap energy, where we will be able to fly like birds in the minimal gravitational field - offers the most realistic and thrilling prospect of life without support from Earth.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Wanna-be science fiction by cranks, for cranks
- By James on 03-20-17
By: Charles Wohlforth, and others
-
Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
OTHER WORLDS
- By CHET YARBROUGH on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
-
Five Billion Years of Solitude
- The Search for Life Among the Stars
- By: Lee Billings
- Narrated by: Lee Billings
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Since its formation nearly five billion years ago, our planet has been the sole living world in a vast and silent universe. Now, Earth's isolation is coming to an end. Over the past two decades, astronomers have discovered thousands of "exoplanets" orbiting other stars, including some that could be similar to our own world. Studying those distant planets for signs of life will be crucial to understanding life's intricate mysteries right here on Earth. In a firsthand account of this unfolding revolution, Lee Billings draws on interviews with top researchers.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Bloated
- By Dr A on 01-09-14
By: Lee Billings