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Wonderland
- How Play Made the Modern World
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Got to Now and Extra Life, a look at the world-changing innovations we made while keeping ourselves entertained.
This history of popular entertainment takes a long-zoom approach, contending that the pursuit of novelty and wonder is a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. Steven Johnson argues that, throughout history, the cutting edge of innovation lies wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused.
Johnson’s storytelling is just as delightful as the inventions he describes, full of surprising stops along the journey from simple concepts to complex modern systems. He introduces us to the colorful innovators of leisure: The explorers, proprietors, showmen, and artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, and magic shows.
In Wonderland, Johnson compellingly argues that observers of technological and social trends should be looking for clues in novel amusements. You’ll find the future wherever people are having the most fun.
Critic reviews
“A house of wonders itself...Wonderland inspires grins and well-what-d'ya-knows” (The New York Times Book Review)
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Bestselling author Leonard Shlain explores the life, art, and mind of Leonardo da Vinci, seeking to explain his singularity by looking at his achievements in art, science, psychology, and military strategy (yes), and then employing state of the art left-right brain scientific research to explain his universal genius. Shlain shows that no other person in human history has excelled in so many different areas as Da Vinci and he peels back the layers to explore the how and the why.
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As distracted as Da Vinci
- By D. McCracken on 05-12-15
By: Leonard Shlain
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Applied Minds
- How Engineers Think
- By: Guru Madhavan
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Through narratives and case studies spanning the brilliant history of engineering, Madhavan shows how the concepts of prototyping, efficiency, reliability, standards, optimization, and feedback are put to use in fields as diverse as transportation, retail, health care, and entertainment. Equal parts personal, practical, and profound, Applied Minds charts a path to a future where we apply strategies borrowed from engineering to create useful and inspired solutions to our most pressing challenges.
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excellent edifying book; great narrator too.
- By Phillip on 01-16-22
By: Guru Madhavan
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Tesla vs Edison
- A Captivating Guide to the War of the Currents and the Life of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Human history has seen many surprising and profound turning points. The ways that humans learned to use raw materials to create activity and resources set the stage for the most compelling and life-altering phase of the modern era, the Industrial Revolution. Born during this time on different continents but connected by similar interests, two men indelibly marked their generation and those that followed with their genius and foresight. This audiobook covers the war of currents and the individual lives of Tesla and Edison.
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Arduous
- By Hasbro on 10-22-18
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Paper
- Paging Through History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.
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Very enjoyable
- By Vicki on 02-16-17
By: Mark Kurlansky
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Trekonomics
- The Economics of Star Trek
- By: Manu Saadia
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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What would the world look like if everybody had everything they wanted or needed? Trekonomics, the premier book in financial journalist Felix Salmon's imprint PiperText, approaches scarcity economics by coming at it backward - through thinking about a universe where scarcity does not exist. Delving deep into the details and intricacies of 24th-century society, Trekonomics explores post-scarcity and whether we, as humans, are equipped for it.
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An Amusing & Practical Analysis of Fictional Ideas
- By Lost In The Wash on 09-19-16
By: Manu Saadia
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Age of Discovery
- Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance
- By: Ian Goldin, Chris Kutarna
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Age of Discovery explores a world on the brink of a new Renaissance and asks: how do we share more widely the benefits of unprecedented progress? How do we endure the inevitable tumult generated by accelerating change? How do we each thrive through this tangled, uncertain time? From gains in health, education, wealth and technology to crises of conflict, disease and mass migration, the similarities between today's world and that of the 15th century are both striking and prophetic: we have been here before.
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A monotonous text disguised as casual reading.
- By Rob on 07-29-16
By: Ian Goldin, and others
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Nonzero
- The Logic of Human Destiny
- By: Robert Wright
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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At the beginning of Nonzero, Robert Wright sets out to "define the arrow of the history of life, from the primordial soup to the World Wide Web." Twenty-two chapters later, after a sweeping and vivid narrative of the human past, he has succeeded and has mounted a powerful challenge to the conventional view that evolution and human history are aimless.
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Non-Zero (but pretty close to zero)
- By Douglas on 02-06-14
By: Robert Wright
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Kingdom of Characters
- The Language Revolution That Made China Modern
- By: Jing Tsu
- Narrated by: Jing Tsu
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu argues that China’s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology.
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Missed important information
- By Ms. on 04-01-22
By: Jing Tsu
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Seven Games
- A Human History
- By: Oliver Roeder
- Narrated by: William Sarris
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Checkers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In Seven Games, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable.
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All about computers and games
- By Mark L on 01-03-23
By: Oliver Roeder
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Tedious and disappointing
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interesting for sure, not what I expected
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Long before the specter of terrorism haunted the public imagination, a serial bomber stalked the streets of 1950s New York. The race to catch him would give birth to a new science called criminal profiling. Grand Central, Penn Station, Radio City Music Hall - for almost two decades, no place was safe from the man who signed his anonymous letters "FP" and left his lethal devices in phone booths, storage lockers, even tucked into the plush seats of movie theaters.
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16 Years NYC Held Hostage
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Depressing history of American tragedy
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When Betty Robinson assumed the starting position at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, she was participating in what was only her fourth-ever organized track meet. She crossed the finish line as a gold medalist and the fastest woman in the world. This improbable athletic phenom was an ordinary high school student, discovered running for a train in rural Illinois mere months before her Olympic debut. Amsterdam made her a star.
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S Is for Southern
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The American South is a multifaceted region with its own vocabulary, peculiarities, and cultural touchstones. Even for those born in the South, the unspoken rules - layered in local nuances and complexities - can sometimes be confounding. Tennessee whiskey may technically be bourbon, but don't let anyone in Kentucky hear you call it that. And bless your heart, don't you dare make the mistake of confusing a magnolia blossom with a Japanese tulip.
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Narrator not from around here!
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Disappointment River
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Excellent
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A Short History of the Railroad
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From the earliest steam engine to the high-speed bullet trains of today, A Short History of the Railway reveals the hidden stories of railway history across the world—the inspired engineering; the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the construction of the tracks; the ground-breaking innovations behind the trains that travelled along them; and the triumphs and tragedies of the people who made the railway what it is.
By: Christian Wolmar
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The Unidentified
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In a world where rational, scientific explanations are more available than ever, belief in the unprovable and irrational - in fringe - is on the rise: from Atlantis to aliens, from Flat Earth to the Loch Ness monster, the list goes on. It seems the more our maps of the known world get filled in, the more we crave mysterious locations full of strange creatures. Enter Colin Dickey, cultural historian and tour guide of the weird.
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Skeptic's Analysis of Weird America
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By: Colin Dickey
What listeners say about Wonderland
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- T. Leach
- 02-09-17
It will delight you
Just as the topic of this book, this book will delight you as it did me in it's novelty. Worth the listen for the very serious who study the history of innovation. Like myself I'm sure it will cause you to look at play differently.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Leon Proller
- 05-08-18
Great telling about subtle human motivation
a great documenting humankind's not so recognized motivators in innovation: play and the joy of having fun
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- Jaime Antonio Torres
- 02-12-17
interesting
if you enjoyed Johnsons' previous works on creativity then you'll enjoy this work's exploration of play. While the subjects are varied, I enjoy Johnsons' writing style which never drags or drolls on but leads you to some new and enlightened idea. Whether in print or digital audio I found this to be a pleasurable read.
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- Staceghost
- 12-05-18
Bill Maher should read this book
Another romp through time discovering history's forgotten links with Steven Johnson? Yes, please! Very fun!
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- Colin
- 11-27-18
Press play
Hearing about how play shaped the world is itself very entertaining. So many important developments arose from our desire to play.
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- David
- 08-06-18
The fun side of innovation
Entertaining and informative history of the impact that our desire for fun has had on innovations. Some familiar stories and some unexpected ones, but all are enjoyable and accessible to broad audiences.
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- Blair L. Murray
- 01-09-17
Great read, great perspective of how & why we got to where we are.
A great perspective on the drivers in the evolution of the human race since mankind progressed beyond survival. I particularly enjoyed the analysis of the computer, and its development. As a physicist and mathematician, I particularly appreciated the acknowledgement of some of the real pioneers in the field.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Whit B
- 12-07-16
Worth a listen!
Great perspective on the evolution of modern society. Learned a of novel things!
If you liked the author's other works, you'll enjoy this as well...
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-05-18
Great audiobook.
Loved it. I would say, it is one of those books that helps you to better understand the world around you, history and prepare you for the future as you learn what shaped history & innovation. Well done Steven. Slavo.
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- Peter Morton
- 12-13-16
Must Read
Anyone who has studied history (that's all of us) will get a new view of humanity cause and effect from this insightful book, connecting recreation, entertainment, and play with the large forces of human history. Historians are passionate about reporting the effects; now you can discover the unlikely causes. What the author left unsaid: perhaps what differentiates our branch from the other hominids is our curiosity; our compulsion to explore and play as a companion to our need to feed and reproduce. I listened to the book on Audible and now will dive into the Kindle companion to capture what I missed by way of illustrations the first time around. Well done, Mr. Johnson; very well done indeed!
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