Innovators Biography

Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?

Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson's revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?

Jonny Greenwood has never accepted the boundaries of genre. As the restless sonic architect of Radiohead, he transformed the electric guitar from a vehicle of riffs into an engine of disruption—jagged stabs in “Creep,” orchestral layering in OK Computer, spectral atmospheres on Kid A. Yet Greenwood’s career extends far beyond the stage. His fascination with the Ondes Martenot and modernist composers pushed Radiohead into uncharted territory, while his classical commissions earned recognition from elite ensembles. When Paul Thomas Anderson invited him to score There Will Be Blood in ...

Offering both successes and failures from leading companies as a guide, The Innovator's Dilemma gives you a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation. Sharp, cogent, and provocative—and consistently noted as one of the most valuable business ideas of all time—The Innovator's Dilemma is the book no manager, leader, or entrepreneur should be without.

From the postwar studios of Los Angeles to stages across Tokyo, Rio, and London, Lee Ritenour: Fusion’s Consummate Session Guitarist traces the life of one of modern music’s most quietly influential figures. Through fifty years of transformation—spanning jazz, pop, fusion, and global collaboration—this biography captures how precision and empathy became the twin foundations of a musician who shaped the sound of an era. Drawing on archival depth and first-hand accounts, the book follows Ritenour’s journey from child prodigy to studio perfectionist, from his teenage work with The ...

His work is cited by the world's best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic best seller - one of the most influential business books of all time - innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right - yet still lose market leadership. Christensen explains why most companies miss out on new waves of innovation.

Few people are aware that John Moses Browning - a tall, humble, cerebral man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West - was the mind behind many of the world-changing firearms that dominated more than a century of conflict. He invented the design used in virtually all modern pistols, created the most popular hunting rifles and shotguns, and conceived the machine guns that proved decisive not just in World Wars I and II but nearly every major military action since. Yet few in America knew his name until he was into his 60s.

Tadd Dameron’s name is spoken with reverence among musicians, yet too often his story is eclipsed by the legends he influenced. Tadd Dameron: Architect of Bebop Harmony restores the composer, arranger, and pianist to his rightful place at the heart of twentieth-century jazz. Drawing from archival research, eyewitness accounts, and newly unearthed materials, this definitive biography traces his journey from the streets of Cleveland to the bandstands of New York, Paris, and beyond. Through vivid narrative and meticulous documentation, the book follows Dameron’s evolution from a young ...

Clayton M. Christensen is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Michael E. Raynor is a director at Deloitte Research. Together, they outline an innovative plan that urges businesses to create disruption rather than fleeing from it. Named one of 2003's Best Business Books by Business Week, this book is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times best seller.

Invisible Innovators: Coaches Who Quietly Changed the Game The spotlight rarely shines on them. Their names aren’t etched in stadiums or shouted in commercials. Yet without their ideas, the sports we love would look completely different. Invisible Innovators uncovers the untold stories of fifteen coaches from around the world who transformed football, basketball, soccer, and beyond. They weren’t always glamorous, but they were pioneers — men who trusted youth before it was fashionable, who brought science into training, who invented systems that others later claimed. Inside, you’ll ...

From Houston’s Fifth Ward to the world’s most prestigious stages, Hubert Laws: Flute’s Jazz Pioneer traces the extraordinary journey of flautist Hubert Laws—a musician who transcended every boundary that music and society tried to impose. Grounded in gospel, refined in classical rigor, and elevated through jazz improvisation, Laws redefined what one instrument—and one artist—could achieve. This definitive biography follows his life in vivid, documentary detail: early family influences steeped in church harmony; formative years at Houston’s Phyllis Wheatley High School under ...

He burst upon the fusty corridors of Victorian spirituality like a breath of fresh air, regaling the prime minister with his sense of humor, and touching the lives of seven presidents.

Artie Shaw remains one of the most fascinating enigmas in American music—a virtuoso clarinetist who became a star of the Swing Era, then walked away from it all. Artie Shaw: Swing’s Reluctant Clarinet King reveals the complete story of a man who defined the sound of an era and defied the limits of celebrity. From his early struggles in Depression-era New Haven to his rise in New York’s cutthroat jazz scene, Shaw’s journey unfolds in vivid, scene-driven detail. Each chapter captures his growth from a teenage prodigy playing dance halls to the architect of “Begin the Beguine,” the...

Lowell George was one of the most inventive and least understood musicians of the 1970s—a guitarist, songwriter, and producer who built Little Feat into one of rock’s most admired yet enigmatic bands. Drawing on archival depth and cultural context, this biography traces George’s full life arc—from Hollywood childhood and early bands through the creation of Little Feat’s genre-defying sound and his tragic death on tour in 1979. Through vivid storytelling and rigorous documentation, it captures how George fused swamp funk, country lyricism, and studio precision into a sound that was...

In this bestselling book, authors Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen build on what we know about disruptive innovation to show how individuals can develop the skills necessary to move progressively from idea to impact.

Across five decades, Keb’ Mo’ transformed the blues from a museum piece into a living conversation. Gentle Revolution traces his journey from Kevin Roosevelt Moore, a curious child in 1950s South Los Angeles, to a Grammy-winning artist whose warmth, wit, and craftsmanship redefined American roots music. Blending deep archival research with cultural context, this biography follows his evolution from the church choirs and R&B bands of Compton to the acoustic renaissance of the 1990s. Each chapter unfolds the texture of his life: early trumpet lessons at Jefferson High, the long ...

This audiobook was created based on Clayton Christensen's landmark book The Innovator's Dilemma. This was Mr. Christensen's synopsis of his book for the Harvard Business Review. The audio tracks listed here cover the key elements of Mr. Christensen's book. This audiobook emphasizes the Idea in Brief "Does my organization have the right resources, processes, values, and team to innovate?" Then it covers the right structure for your specific type of innovation.

From smoky San Francisco dance halls to the luminous heights of Take Five, Paul Desmond: Alto’s Lyrical Romantic traces the life of one of jazz’s most distinctive voices. This sweeping biography follows Desmond’s journey from a Depression-era childhood immersed in radio orchestras to his emergence as the melodic conscience of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Through archival depth and narrative intimacy, it captures a musician who turned understatement into art and transformed quietness into strength. Across thirty richly detailed chapters, the book explores the disciplined gentleness that ...

Steve Stevens is more than Billy Idol’s legendary guitarist—he is one of rock’s boldest innovators. Steve Stevens: The Rebel Guitarist takes readers from his Brooklyn childhood to global stages, where his riffs helped define the sound and spectacle of the 1980s. Yet this is not a story locked in nostalgia. Through flamenco studies, progressive collaborations, film scoring, and gear innovations, Stevens continually redefined what the guitar could be. This biography captures the electricity of Stevens’s journey: the formation of Atomic Playboys, Grammy-winning success with the Top Gun...

Pat Metheny has never stood still. From his beginnings in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, through the smoky Kansas City clubs, to international stages and groundbreaking studio sessions, he has redefined the role of the guitar in modern music. Pat Metheny: The Quiet Architect of Modern Guitar traces his fifty-year journey, combining the precision of a historian with the insight of someone who lived inside the music. This definitive biography follows Metheny’s evolution from trumpet-playing prodigy to one of the most innovative voices in jazz and beyond. It covers his formative years in the ...