The definitive history of America s greatest incubator of innovation, the birthplace of some of the 20th century s most influential technologies, including the integrated circuit, the communications satellite and the cell phone. From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs officially, the research and development wing of AT&T was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, it s hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn t been ...
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The definitive history of America s greatest incubator of innovation, the birthplace of some of the 20th century s most influential technologies, including the integrated circuit, the communications satellite and the cell phone. From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs officially, the research and development wing of AT&T was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, it s hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn t been touched by Bell Labs. Why did so many transformative ideas come from Bell Labs? In "The Idea Factory," Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century s most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Their job was to research and develop the future of communications. Small-town boys, childhood hobbyists, oddballs: they give the lie to the idea that Bell Labs was a grim cathedral of top-down command and control. Gertner brings to life the powerful alchemy of the forces at work behind Bell Labs inventions, teasing out the intersections between science, business, and society. He distills the lessons that abide: how to recruit and nurture young talent; how to organize and lead fractious employees; how to find solutions to the most stubbornly vexing problems; how to transform a scientific discovery into a marketable product, then make it even better, cheaper, or both. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born. "The Idea Factory" is the story of the origins of modern communications and the beginnings of the information age a deeply human story of extraordinary men who were given extraordinary means time, space, funds, and access to one another and edged the world into a new dimension."
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Add this copy of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of to cart. $4.31, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Penguin Press.
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Add this copy of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of to cart. $9.95, new condition, Sold by West with the Night rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tucson, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Penguin Press.
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New in fine dust jacket. remainder mark is only flaw. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 422 p. Contains: Illustrations, black & white. Audience: General/trade.
Add this copy of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of to cart. $9.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Penguin Press.
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Add this copy of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of to cart. $11.31, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Penguin Press.
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Add this copy of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of to cart. $53.60, like new condition, Sold by A2ZBooks rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Burgin, KY, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Penguin.
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As New. No Dust Jacket. Text appears nice and clean, but may contain minor marks that we missed. Cover has light shelf and corner wear may have bookstore stickers or be former reference copy. Binding is in very good condition. Nice book and binding. Looks real nice. 422 pages. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Education; ISBN: 1594203288. ISBN/EAN: 9781594203282. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 1561033234.
I retired from "Ma Bell". A great read for anyone who spent a career there and wants to remind themselves of what a great company they worked for and what they did for the nation.
