Preview
  • How We Got to Now

  • Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
  • By: Steven Johnson
  • Narrated by: George Newbern
  • Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,866 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How We Got to Now

By: Steven Johnson
Narrated by: George Newbern
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.50

Buy for $13.50

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of Where Good Ideas Come From and Everything Bad Is Good for You, a new look at the power and legacy of great ideas.

In this volume, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. Filled with surprising stories of accidental genius and brilliant mistakes - from the French publisher who invented the phonograph before Edison but forgot to include playback, to the Hollywood movie star who helped invent the technology behind Wi-Fi and Bluetooth - How We Got to Now investigates the secret history behind the everyday objects of contemporary life.

In his trademark style, Johnson examines unexpected connections between seemingly unrelated fields: how the invention of air-conditioning enabled the largest migration of human beings in the history of the species - to cities such as Dubai or Phoenix, which would otherwise be virtually uninhabitable; how pendulum clocks helped trigger the industrial revolution; and how clean water made it possible to manufacture computer chips. Accompanied by a major six-part television series on PBS, How We Got to Now is the story of collaborative networks building the modern world, written in the provocative, informative, and engaging style that has earned Johnson fans around the globe.

©2014 Steven Johnson (P)2014 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about How We Got to Now

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,131
  • 4 Stars
    557
  • 3 Stars
    154
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    997
  • 4 Stars
    480
  • 3 Stars
    116
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    8
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    986
  • 4 Stars
    460
  • 3 Stars
    146
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

New insight into famous innovations

Great stories of innovation, while drawing a few general principles from the commonalities of the anecdotes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

CIVILIZATION'S ADVANCE

Steven Johnson suggests innovations in glass, ice, light, print, sound, and time are seminal markers for civilization’s advance. Through human innovation, Johnson argues these seminal markers create the modern world.

Johnson’s first example is a translucent substance in the Egyptian desert. Its discovery takes the form of art-buried in ancient tombs. Tiny scarab models lead to questions of how a translucent glass beetle is formed. His second example is the brittle transparent natural production of ice that leads to cooled drinks, to refrigeration, air conditioning, and frozen dinners. In the early days of civilization, sunlight determined the length of the work day. Eventually ways of extending the work day are created with artificial light. With Guttenberg, innovations in print spread education around the world at an affordable cost. Personal human knowledge expands geometrically. Innovations in sound have expanded from echoes in caves to wired communication to cell phone conversations to sea floor mapping to the discovery of remnants of the sound of earth’s Big Bang. As the world matures, time is measured; i.e. first by the position of the sun; later by the segmentation of a created twenty-four hour day and finally with accuracy determined by the molecular action of atoms. Accurate and synchronized measurement of time becomes critical to many aspects of life.

Johnson argues that these six areas of innovation coalesce to explain humanity’s past, present, and future. Johnson’s glass, ice, light, print, sound, and time reminds one of Aristotle’s forms; i.e. the idea that forms are what human’ senses determine objects to be. Johnson adds the principle of innovation to Aristotelian forms to make the world modern.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I come back to this over and over!

This is a fascinating book and the approach the author takes in explaining the interrelated nature of technology and social change is at once insightful and easy to comprehend. Great narration by George Newbern. I like this audiobook immensely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing, but 25% shorter than I'd like

Outstanding overview of common materials and measures that we take for granted, how they came into importance, and the unintended consequences of each. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book. I highly recommend it, even though it's perhaps a bit short. I feel like the author should have taken the time to write on two more topics to make this a full length, more complete book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting

Solid history of some important but basic technologies. Good but not great, a brief and enjoyable read that is worth the time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it

As a novice book listener, I enjoyed my time listening to this book. It gave me some different perspectives to certain problems.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Naration of Science History

Ok historical depiction of science in general. Nothing new but a more organized depiction of progress.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read!

I'll recomend this book to everyone, especially to be listened in Audible. It can be read to pass time but also as a initiation in innovation area. I started reading it looking for inspiration, but suddenly I was supriesed by a great narrative and wonderful curiosities in every chapter. It's in my favorite's hall now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inventions Rock!

If you are into cool facts, and "wow I never thought of it that way" moments, you will definitely enjoy this book and the "long zoom" perspective the author takes. Reads a bit like an academic paper in terms of format, but it is definitely not too brainy for the non-scientist to read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Proper Telling of Human Evolution

I agree with the author of this book, history makes much more sense when you draw the picture with our inventions. When you can take a look at the hummingbird effect something like glass has had on the adjacent possible of the time, it really just makes it all make sense.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!