Penguin Books Winter 2013 - Bookseller Services - Penguin Group

Photo: Leslie dela Vega
54
new york times bestseller
The Idea Factory
Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
Jon Gertner
In this first full portrait of the legendary Bell Labs,
journalist Jon Gertner takes readers behind one of the
greatest collaborations between business and science in
history. Officially the research and development wing of
AT&T, Bell Labs made seminal breakthroughs from the
1920s to the 1980s in everything from lasers to cellular
telephony, becoming arguably the best laboratory for new
ideas in the world. Gertner’s riveting narrative traces the
intersections between science, business, and society that
allowed a cadre of eccentric geniuses to lay the foundations
of the information age, offering lessons in management
and innovation that are as vital today as they were a
generation ago.
Jon geRtneR grew up in Berkeley
Heights, New Jersey, just a few hundred yards
away from Bell Labs. He has been a writer
for the New York Times Magazine since 2004
and is an editor at Fast Company magazine.
He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his
wife and two children.
“ Filled with colorful characters
and inspiring lessons . . . The Idea
Factory explores one of the most critical
issues of our time: What causes innovation?”
—Walter Isaacson, The New York Times
Book Review
“ Riveting . . . Mr. Gertner’s portraits of
Kelly and the cadre of talented scientists
who worked at Bell Labs are animated by a
journalistic ability to make their discoveries
and inventions utterly comprehensible—
indeed, thrilling—to the lay reader.”
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“ Expansive . . . a book that needed to
be written. Through deep archival research
and extensive primary interviews, Gertner
traces the history of a singular and peculiar
American institution that produced more
major discoveries and Nobel laureates than
most universities. . . . Impressive.”
—Wired
Large Lecture Venues
National Radio Telephone Interviews
Online Publicity
Online Advertising