Collection
Publication
New York : Riverhead Books, 2018.
Description
Reference. Technology. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML:An NPR Best Book of 2018 "How to Invent Everything is such a cool book. It's essential reading for anyone who needs to duplicate an industrial civilization quickly." �??Randall Munroe, xkcd creator and New York Times-bestselling author of What If? The only book you need if you're going back in time What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past. . . and then broke? How would you survive? Could you improve on humanity's original timeline? And how hard would it be to domesticate a giant wombat? With this book as your guide, you'll survive�??and thrive�??in any period in Earth's history. Bestselling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North shows you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted�??from first principles. This illustrated manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up. Deeply researched, irreverent, and significantly more fun than being eaten by a saber-toothed tiger, How to Invent Everything will make you smarter, more competent, and completely prepared to become the most important and influential person ever. You're about to make history. . .… (more)
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member bragan
The conceit behind this humorous guide to some of humanity's most important technologies and ideas is that it is an artifact of an alternate future, dug up from the fossil record, containing instructions for how to build your own advanced civilization if you get stuck in the past. Apparently it
It seems like a fun way to learn a lot about technology and history, and based on other things of his that I've read, I very much like Ryan North's sense of humor. So I was expecting this to be really interesting and really funny. And, well... It was mildly interesting and mildly funny, So, worth a look, but not quite as engaging as I was hoping for.
And how useful it actually might be if you were stranded in the past varies a lot. A few of the simpler ideas here I'm sure I could put into use, but for most of them, well, it might be a good overview of the basic ideas, but I'm quite sure that if I tried to put them into practice I'd quickly find the devil is in the details, and I'm really bad at details when it comes to doing anything practical. I can't quite figure out how to replace a storm door on my house. There is no way I'm inventing a steam engine from scratch with three pages of instructions.
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comes as standard equipment with your rental time machine.It seems like a fun way to learn a lot about technology and history, and based on other things of his that I've read, I very much like Ryan North's sense of humor. So I was expecting this to be really interesting and really funny. And, well... It was mildly interesting and mildly funny, So, worth a look, but not quite as engaging as I was hoping for.
And how useful it actually might be if you were stranded in the past varies a lot. A few of the simpler ideas here I'm sure I could put into use, but for most of them, well, it might be a good overview of the basic ideas, but I'm quite sure that if I tried to put them into practice I'd quickly find the devil is in the details, and I'm really bad at details when it comes to doing anything practical. I can't quite figure out how to replace a storm door on my house. There is no way I'm inventing a steam engine from scratch with three pages of instructions.
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LibraryThing member BillieBook
If you ever need to rebuild civilization from the ground up, make sure you have Ryan North with you. If kidnapping is not your thing, then at least make sure you have this book. I wouldn't recommend taking the audio though, because if the power to your portable (music) listening device dies before
Filled with really useful information (and some eye-rollingly bad puns) and delivered in a charming, accessible manner. There is nothing dry or academic here, in spite of the numerous charts and graphs and footnotes and the information is presented in such a way that even a lazy, clumsy person such as myself could probably utilize it to become a Goddess. Or at least the only person in the cave who has fire.
This one gets five stars because it is funny and may save your life in the event of the collapse of civilization (or if you get stranded in the past in a time travel accident). And, also because the author has a weird fascination with Salt-N-Pepa's Shoop, which I can respect.
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you get around to "inventing" electricity and/or batteries, you're still screwed. Filled with really useful information (and some eye-rollingly bad puns) and delivered in a charming, accessible manner. There is nothing dry or academic here, in spite of the numerous charts and graphs and footnotes and the information is presented in such a way that even a lazy, clumsy person such as myself could probably utilize it to become a Goddess. Or at least the only person in the cave who has fire.
This one gets five stars because it is funny and may save your life in the event of the collapse of civilization (or if you get stranded in the past in a time travel accident). And, also because the author has a weird fascination with Salt-N-Pepa's Shoop, which I can respect.
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LibraryThing member laze
A pretty remarkable achievement for its scope and ability to deliver potentially dry, boring information in an entertaining fashion. Seriously, this was quite an undertaking for an author and Ryan North _killed it_.
LibraryThing member Guide2
Very informative book, that is at the same time quite funny: tough combo, but extremely well done!
LibraryThing member jasoncomely
Clever idea for an instruction manual, but it's probably better as a handy reference guide than a book you'd read right through to the end.
LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
If you find yourself somewhere in time with absolutely nothing, then wouldn’t it be great if you had the wits and wherewithal to make something? Or everything? Maybe you’ve time-traveled to the earliest era of anatomically modern humans. Or maybe you find yourself in a post-apocalyptic
Although this is a silly book that is mostly just fun, it may get you thinking about a couple of things. For example, it got me thinking that it would actually be a really good idea if we, collectively, stored our knowledge about stuff in places and on media that will be accessible if everything goes south. Just in case. It also makes you think about how so many things are connected to other things. And how inventing one thing may or may not impact the potential development of other things. And the potential ramifications of that on a society. This is not something Ryan North is particularly interested in. He’s mostly just about the funny. But what does it say about his view of the world when he presents technologies as developing in tree diagrams, where one thing leads to another, practically inevitably? Is he implying that our present technological and social state is inevitable? Wouldn’t that be an odd discovery? Doesn’t it sound more like what you’d expect from a, somewhat limited, computer game?
Yes, well…
Despite its drawbacks this book does what it sets out to do — it’s moderately fun for geeky guys who don’t really know stuff but wish they did (i.e. probably not so interesting for engineers). And it might accidentally provoke some more serious thought about our species’ interaction and dependence on technology. And that might be more useful for the stranded time traveler than the rest of what is contained herein.
Gently recommended.
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no-man’s-land. Or maybe you are just stuck out in the woods, or on a sofa with too much time on your hands. Then this book is probably going to be a big help. It not only has (admittedly minimal) instructions on how to build lots of useful stuff, but it also informs you as to why you might want or need that stuff and, more important, what stuff you might need to build in order to be able to build this stuff. That’s good stuff.Although this is a silly book that is mostly just fun, it may get you thinking about a couple of things. For example, it got me thinking that it would actually be a really good idea if we, collectively, stored our knowledge about stuff in places and on media that will be accessible if everything goes south. Just in case. It also makes you think about how so many things are connected to other things. And how inventing one thing may or may not impact the potential development of other things. And the potential ramifications of that on a society. This is not something Ryan North is particularly interested in. He’s mostly just about the funny. But what does it say about his view of the world when he presents technologies as developing in tree diagrams, where one thing leads to another, practically inevitably? Is he implying that our present technological and social state is inevitable? Wouldn’t that be an odd discovery? Doesn’t it sound more like what you’d expect from a, somewhat limited, computer game?
Yes, well…
Despite its drawbacks this book does what it sets out to do — it’s moderately fun for geeky guys who don’t really know stuff but wish they did (i.e. probably not so interesting for engineers). And it might accidentally provoke some more serious thought about our species’ interaction and dependence on technology. And that might be more useful for the stranded time traveler than the rest of what is contained herein.
Gently recommended.
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LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
I'm not exactly certain how to classify this book - is it a history of science framed as time travel guide or a time travel guide that includes a history of important human developments (because you'll need to understand how things got invented when you get stranded in the past)? Either way, this
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makes for a fun way to learn about the technology that we all rely everyday. While I hope not to need the knowledge included in this book, I would recommend it to readers with an interest in science and like a time travel premise. Show Less
LibraryThing member saltmanz
Highly amusing and informative! However, it's not really a book you'd want to sit down and read straight through; you're really probably better off picking it up from time to time and skipping around.
LibraryThing member dhmontgomery
One part genuinely useful guide and one part humor, North (of "Dinosaur Comics" fame) presents a guide to reinvent lots of key elements of human life, everything from charcoal (surprisingly fundamental!) to hydroelectric power. It's pretty accessible and doesn't get bogged down in details, so if
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you ever actually find yourself trying to rebuild civilization from scratch with the help of this book, you may find yourself doing a lot of trial and error. But this brevity helps keep the book readable and entertaining — as does the steady stream of jokes. Even people who skim past the more technical discussions of plants and chemicals will likely come away entertained. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jerry.Yoakum
How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveller by Ryan North was a good read. Be warned this isn't a straight-through novel but more like an encyclopedia focused on what you need to rebuild civilization. Regardless, it is fascinating and a must have for any how-to geek.
LibraryThing member SESchend
Amazing
Hilarious
Informative
This book deserves to be read in schools for the broad spectrum of information it doles out with humor & insight.
It may be a fictional conceit/platform, but this book is great at teaching how history, technology, & society all interweave.
Hilarious
Informative
This book deserves to be read in schools for the broad spectrum of information it doles out with humor & insight.
It may be a fictional conceit/platform, but this book is great at teaching how history, technology, & society all interweave.
LibraryThing member rivkat
Charming semi-history of human innovation as a manual for a time traveler stuck in the past. I loved the Crosstime Engineer (yes, I know now) and so it was fun for me despite the occasional dry lists.
LibraryThing member Treebeard_404
Such fun! North presses a lot of very interesting (and potentially useful) information into pithy prose packaged precisely for casual reading. The format will accommodate you whether you want to go from cover to cover or skip around.
LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
This is a cute idea, but it wears thin fast. There also isn't enough information given to really make the things suggested.