The Idea Factory
{{Short description|Non-fiction book by Jon Gertner}}
{{Infobox book
| name = The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
| image = Image:The_idea_factory_gertner.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = Jon Gertner
| country = United States
| language = English
| subject = Bell Labs
| genre = Corporate history
| publisher = Penguin Press
| pub_date = March 15, 2012
| media_type = Print (hardcover), print (paperback), e-book, audiobook
| pages = 432
| isbn = 9781594203282
}}
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation is a 2012 book by Jon Gertner that describes the history of Bell Labs, the research and development wing of AT&T, as well as many of its personalities, including Claude Shannon and William Shockley.{{cite magazine | url = https://www.fastcompany.com/90217842/this-new-laboratory-will-explore-how-people-can-truly-flourish-at-work | title = This new laboratory will explore how people can truly flourish at work | date = 14 August 2018 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | magazine = Fast Company | author = Rick Wartzman }}{{cite web | url = http://www.centraljersey.com/news/atlantichub/stories/author-says-he-could-not-imagine-bell-labs-having-a/article_533b459a-a6cf-5dfe-81f7-2475f3e0efa0.html | title = Author says he could not imagine Bell Labs having a future | date = 20 November 2018 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | publisher = CentralJersey.com | author = Kelly Giuliano }}{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/2012/04/27/151534929/the-idea-factory-how-bell-labs-created-the-future | title = The Idea Factory: How Bell Labs Created The Future | date = 27 April 2012 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | publisher = NPR }}{{cite magazine | url = https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/11/x-google-moonshot-factory/540648/ | title = Google X and the Science of Radical Creativity | date = 1 November 2017 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | magazine = The Atlantic | author = Derek Thompson }}
Reception
The New York Times said that 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".{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/books/the-idea-factory-by-jon-gertner.html |title=What Hath Bell Labs Wrought? The Future |newspaper=The New York Times |date= March 19, 2012 |author= Michiko Kakutani |accessdate= July 8, 2015}}
The Idea Factory was reviewed favorably by Foreign Policy, the New York Times, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and others.{{cite magazine | url = https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/03/15/book-review-jon-gertners-the-idea-factory/ | title = Book Review: Jon Gertner's "The Idea Factory" | date = 15 March 2012 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | magazine = Foreign Policy | author = Konstantin Kakaes }}{{cite web | url = https://www.cleveland.com/books/2012/04/in_the_idea_factory_jon_gertne.html | title = In 'The Idea Factory,' Jon Gertner paints Bell Labs astutely | date = 9 April 2012 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | publisher = Cleveland Plain-Dealer | author = Karen R. Long }} Three adapted excerpts from the book were published in TIME.{{cite magazine | url = https://business.time.com/2012/03/21/how-bell-labs-invented-the-world-we-live-in-today/ | title = How Bell Labs Invented the World We Live in Today | date = 21 March 2012 | access-date = 14 March 2019 | magazine = TIME | author = Jon Gertner }}
Facebook co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg recommended The Idea Factory to his book club in 2015, saying of the choice, "[he is] very interested in what causes innovation — what kinds of people, questions and environments."{{cite web | url = https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-recommends-the-idea-factory-2015-11 | title = Why Mark Zuckerberg wants everyone to read about the lab that has won the most Nobel Prizes | date = 9 November 2015 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | website = Business Insider | author = Richard Feloni }}{{cite web | url = https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/11/2-books-that-changed-the-way-mark-zuckerberg-thinks-about-innovation.html | title = 2 books that changed the way Mark Zuckerberg thinks about innovation | date = 11 April 2017 | accessdate = 14 March 2019 | publisher = NBC | author = Marguerite Ward }}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idea Factory}}
Category:2012 non-fiction books