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A great science writer.
— Bill Clinton, speaking at the Health Matters conference
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Mr. Johnson, who knows a thing or two about the history of science, is a first-rate storyteller.
— The New York Times
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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
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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
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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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[Johnson's] point is simple, important and well-timed: During periods of rapid innovation, there is always tumult as citizens try to make sense of it....Johnson is an engaging writer, and he takes very complicated and disparate subjects and makes their evolution understandable.
— The Washington Post
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Through a series of elegant books about the history of technological innovation, Steven Johnson has become one of the most persuasive advocates for the role of collaboration in innovation….Mr. Johnson's erudition can be quite gobsmacking.
— The Wall Street Journal
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A full three cheers for Steven Johnson. He is, by no means, the only writer we currently have in our era of technological revolution who devotes himself to innovation, invention and creativity but he is, far and away, the most readable.
— The Buffalo News
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The reader of How We Got to Now cannot fail to be impressed by human ingenuity, including Johnson’s, in determining these often labyrinthine but staggeringly powerful developments of one thing to the next.
— San Francisco Chronicle
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A rapid but interesting tour of the history behind many of the comforts and technologies that comprise our world.
— Christian Science Monitor
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How We Got to Now... offers a fascinating glimpse at how a handful of basic inventions--such as the measurement of time, reliable methods of sanitation, the benefits of competent refrigeration, glassmaking and the faithful reproduction of sound--have evolved, often in surprising ways.
— Shelf Awareness
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[Johnson] writes about science and technology elegantly and accessibly, he evinces an infectious delight in his subject matter...Each chapter is full of strange and fascinating connections.
— Barnes and Noble Review
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From the sanitation engineering that literally raised nineteenth-century Chicago to the 23 men who partially invented the light bulb before Thomas Edison, [How We Got to Now] is a many-layered delight.
— Nature Review
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A highly readable and fascinating account of science, invention, accident and genius that gave us the world we live in today.
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
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An unbelievable book…it’s an innovative way to talk about history.
— Jon Stewart
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What makes this book such a mind-expanding read is Johnson’s ability to appreciate human advancement as a vast network of influence, rather than a simple chain of one invention leading to another, and result is nothing less than a celebration of the human mind.
— The Daily Beast
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Fascinating…it’s an amazing book!
— CBS This Morning
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“In Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson successfully demolished
the ‘eureka moment’ theory of ideas dropping on inventors like apples from a
tree. In How We Got to Now, he
escorts us further into the real world of innovation by describing half a dozen
breakthroughs that have radically changed humankind, almost always in
unforeseen ways. To this new mix, Johnson brings the talents of a natural
storyteller, dispensing real-life tales of both genius inventors and near-miss
blunderers in equally captivating ways. A perfect fit for fans of books like The Tipping Point and The Black Swan.”
— Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review
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“In this fascinating book, Johnson presents a ‘history of ideas and innovation,’ focusing on six important
technical and scientific innovations that have shaped the modern world
but that we often take for granted.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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“Johnson’s explorations of
innovations such as glass, refrigeration, water filtration, and clocks and
their unexpected—even astonishing—impact on history are riveting…George
Newbern’s narration is more competent and correct than enthusiastic. But most
listeners will overlook these imperfections in their enjoyment of Johnson’s
revelations, connections, and insights and his unique take on innovation and
invention. Whether your turn of mind is scientific, philosophical, or
sociological, you’ll want to hear How We
Got to Now, which was also a recent PBS series.”
— AudioFile