Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age:...

You don't have to be a mechanical genius to be an inventor. Anyone can invent - a parent wrestling with a baby sling ...a coach frustrated with slick-soled running shoes ...an office worker determined to keep the computer cords untangled. Inventing is simply finding clever solutions to everyday challenges. Author and inventor Patricia Nolan-Brown has turned common annoyances into ingenious and money-making products. She shares the tricks of her trade...

The wheel was invented some 5,000 years ago, and the modern suitcase in the mid-nineteenth century, but it wasn't until the 1970s that someone successfully married the two. What was the hold up? For writer and journalist Katrine Marçal, the answer is both shocking and simple: because "real men" carried their bags, no matter how heavy. There were rolling suitcases before the '70s, but they were marketed as a niche product for (the presumably few)...

Introduces some of the men and women who are working in the field of biomimicry--a science that studies nature's models and then imitates them to solve human problems--and considers the implications of such studies for the future of mankind.

"When Bitcoin was first released in January 2009, each digital coin was worth only a few pennies. A single Bitcoin is now valued at over ten thousand dollars. This book examines digital cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology that makes them possible."--

"Earle Dickson and his new bride Josephine begin their lives together. The end. (Not really. There's more.) Josephine has a proclivity for injuring herself. Earle attaches cotton to long strips of adhesive tape, telling Josephine to cut off a length when she needs one. Since Earle works as a cotton buyer at Johnson & Johnson, he shares his idea. They're a big hit. The end. (Again, not really!) After a few false starts (much like the hilarious "the...

It's the first night of summer, and fifteen year-old Sara James is sleeping outside on her backyard trampoline with her best friend, Kai. Sara awakens in the middle of the night to a beautiful, starry sky. There's a sudden flash of light, and an angelic woman appears, floating on the night air with her magnificent, sparkling-white wings outstretched. She introduces herself as Anjalie, and invites Sara to join her on a quest. Normally cautious and...

A momentous look at the private companies building a revolutionary new economy in space, from the New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk. In When the Heavens Went on Sale, Ashlee Vance illuminates our future and unveils the next big technology story of our time: welcome to the Wild West of aerospace engineering and its unprecedented impact on our lives. With the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket in 2008, Silicon Valley began to realize that...

This biography examines the remarkable life of Estée Lauder using easy-to-read, compelling text. Through striking black-and-white images and rich color photographs, readers will learn about Lauder's family background, childhood, education, and innovative work as the founder of the Estée Lauder cosmetics company. Informative sidebars enhance and support the text. Features include a table of contents, timeline, facts page, glossary, bibliography,...

Creativity and innovation are some of the most desirable traits in any profession. As the workforce is increasingly becoming more competitive, learning and adopting great innovators' traits will greatly benefit personal and professional lives. Serial innovators have developed the skills to generate innovative ideas in different sectors. Analysis of their habits, traits, and character reveals a striking pattern that has enabled them to generate great...