Staff Pick
Drawing on countless examples of innovators and inventors, Ashton reminds us by example that creativity depends on hard work and perseverance, with a splash or two of genius topping off the mix. You might not reinvent the wheel after reading this, but you will be energized and inspired to exercise your creative muscles. Recommended By Mary Jo S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
As a technology pioneer at MIT and as the leader of three successful start-ups, Kevin Ashton experienced firsthand the all-consuming challenge of creating something new. Now, in a tour-de-force narrative twenty years in the making, Ashton leads us on a journey through humanity’s greatest creations to uncover the surprising truth behind who creates and how they do it. From the crystallographer’s laboratory where the secrets of DNA were first revealed by a long forgotten woman, to the electromagnetic chamber where the stealth bomber was born on a twenty-five-cent bet, to the Ohio bicycle shop where the Wright brothers set out to “fly a horse,” Ashton showcases the seemingly unremarkable individuals, gradual steps, multiple failures, and countless ordinary and usually uncredited acts that lead to our most astounding breakthroughs.
Creators, he shows, apply in particular ways the everyday, ordinary thinking of which we are all capable, taking thousands of small steps and working in an endless loop of problem and solution. He examines why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it, why most organizations stifle creative people, and how the most creative organizations work. Drawing on examples from art, science, business, and invention, from Mozart to the Muppets, Archimedes to Apple, Kandinsky to a can of Coke, How to Fly a Horse is a passionate and immensely rewarding exploration of how “new” comes to be.
Review
"[An] entertaining and inspiring meditation on the nature of creative innovation....Fans of Malcolm Gladwell and Stephen Levitt will enjoy Ashton's hybrid nonfiction style, which builds a compelling cultural treatise from a coalescence of engaging anecdotes." Booklist
Review
"Ashton wastes no time debunking the creativity myth....Taken collectively, the creations documented in this thought-provoking book prove that creative power resides in us all."
Publishers Weekly
Review
"Ashton makes compelling arguments about creativity and genius." Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Kevin Ashton led pioneering work on RFID (radio frequency identification) networks, for which he coined the term “the Internet of Things,” and cofounded the Auto-ID Center at MIT. His writing about innovation and technology has appeared in Quartz, Medium, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.