readerette's review
12%II was interested in the concept but this is pretty long and the first 12% is just a lot of recitation of various stories about inventions. The author also finds regulation (environmental and safety protections) objectionable. I'm being a little dramatic, but apparently we can't innovate unless we're allowed to damage and destroy nature and people. Author just seems pompous and verbose.
vlad's review
3.0
As a junkie of the innovation genre, I rate this a bit above average.
However, some things bother me about it:
- anti-regulation bordering on libertarian; in truth, regulation can result in innovations, a possibility the author never seriously considers
- inaccuracies (eg, writes that Google never brought Glass back — I worked on Glass and know this to be untrue
- lacks integrity when writing about GMO crops — maintains total support for GMO crops, without acknowledging death and cancer caused by industrial use of glyphosate (which is heavily sprayed on crops genetically modified to be “Roundup-ready”)
That said, still a good read.
However, some things bother me about it:
- anti-regulation bordering on libertarian; in truth, regulation can result in innovations, a possibility the author never seriously considers
- inaccuracies (eg, writes that Google never brought Glass back — I worked on Glass and know this to be untrue
- lacks integrity when writing about GMO crops — maintains total support for GMO crops, without acknowledging death and cancer caused by industrial use of glyphosate (which is heavily sprayed on crops genetically modified to be “Roundup-ready”)
That said, still a good read.
heiki's review
2.0
It was a super brief history of innovation in a lot of different areas. I felt like mentioning each item's innovation story with a few sentences did not get me excited. Instead I would have wanted to have more in-depth background stories. Also, the last few paragraphs on prerequisites for innovation were weak.
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