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  • Published: 28 January 2016
  • ISBN: 9780141983462
  • Imprint: Penguin Audio
  • Format: Audio Download

How We Got to Now

Six Innovations that Made the Modern World




A fascinating history of invention, exploring the power and legacy of great ideas

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of How We Got To Now by Steven Johnson, read by George Newbern.

From Steven Johnson, the bestselling author of Where Good Ideas Come From, comes How We Got to Now, which tracks the surprising inspirations and unexpected consequences of the most influential innovations.

How did the advent of refrigeration help create the golden age of Hollywood? How did the invention of flash photography help shift public opinion on the plight of New York's poorest inhabitants and bring about social reform? And what about our battle against dirt? How did that help create the microchips in our smartphones and computers? Unlocking tales of the unsung heroes and unexpected scientific revolutions, this is the story of the ideas that changed the world and the way we live in it.

  • Published: 28 January 2016
  • ISBN: 9780141983462
  • Imprint: Penguin Audio
  • Format: Audio Download

About the author

Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of thirteen books, including Where Good Ideas Come From, Farsighted, and The Ghost Map. He's the host and cocreator of the Emmy-winning PBS/BBC series How We Got to Now, and the host of the podcast American Innovations. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and Marin County, California, with his wife and three sons.

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