Author:Chris Anderson
If a country wants to remain economically vibrant, it needs to manufacture things. In recent years, however, many nations have become obsessed with making money out of selling services, leaving the real business of manufacturing to others.
Makers is about how all that is being reversed. Over the past ten years, the internet has democratised publishing, broadcasting and communications, leading to a massive increase in the range of participation in everything digital - the world of bits. Now the same is happening to manufacturing - the world of things.
Chris Anderson, bestselling author of The Long Tail, explains how this is happening: how such technologies as 3D printing and electronics assembly are becoming available to everybody, and how people are building successful businesses as a result. Whereas once every aspiring entrepreneur needed the support of a major manufacturer, now anybody with a smart idea and a little expertise can make their ideas a reality. Just as Google, Facebook and others have created highly successful companies in the virtual world, so these new inventors and manufacturers are assuming positions of ever greater importance in the real world.
The next industrial revolution is on its way.
When people ask me what an entrepreneur is, my answer is someone who wants to make a difference to other people’s lives. Jamal is a walking definition of the word.
—— Sir Richard BransonLevine is an engaging, provocative writer, and there is much to like about Free Ride...an entertaining read, with an entertaining cast
—— ObserverA book that should change the debate about the future of culture
—— New York Times Book ReviewBrilliant... A crashcourse in the existential problems facing the media
—— The TimesImportant
—— Bryan Appleyard , Sunday TimesPugnacious and well-researched
—— Steven Poole , GuardianComprehensive
—— Pat Kane , IndependentRobert Levine tries to solve the tricky problem of internet copyright… This is an important debate, and this opinionated book is a welcome part of it
—— William Leith , ScotsmanFascinating and ambitious ... Richard McGregor lays bare the secretive machinery of the party
—— Gady Epstein , ForbesMcGregor has done the world a service with his fascinating new book
—— Peter Hartcher , Sydney Morning HeraldA fascinating read ... in an age when Chinese economic influence is reaching new levels, it is an invaluable exercise in understanding the operation of the most powerful political party in the world
—— Ian Kehoe , Sunday Business PostA vivid narrative, sprinkled with humour and insight ... amazing characters ... an engrossing read
—— South China Morning PostGripping ... McGregor brings to life the characters behind the icons of Chinese power and wealth, the figures that built the Shanghai skyline and rebuilt Beijing for the Olympics. More importantly, he gives us a feel for the dynamics behind China's rise
—— Irish TimesA lively and penetrating account of a party that ... has clung to secrecy as an inviolable principle
—— Andrew Higgins , Washington PostEminently readable ... McGregor has done a great service to those who would hope to better understand where China's power lies
—— China Economic ReviewAn illuminating glimpse behind the red curtain ... McGregor's lucid dissection shows how top-ranked party members - indeed the party itself - sit outside the law
—— MetroWhat Money Can't Buy is replete with examples of what money can, in fact, buy ... Sandel has a genius for showing why such changes are deeply important
—— Martin Sandbu , Financial TimesMichael Sandel ... is currently the most effective communicator of ideas in English
—— GuardianSandel, the most famous teacher of philosophy in the world, has shown that it is possible to take philosophy into the public square without insulting the public's intelligence
—— Michael Ignatieff , New RepublicA book that can persuade people that the rules of the economy don't just reflect our values, they help to determine them
—— Ed Miliband , New StatesmanFascinating exploration of the alarming encroachment of market philosophy on so many aspects of our lives
—— Alexander McCall Smith , The Herald