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Lemelson Center Books

The Lemelson Center's publication program disseminates new scholarship on the history of invention.

 

 

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Montage of book covers published in the Lemelson Center Studies series
Lemelson Center Books

Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation

Books in the interdisciplinary Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series explore the history of invention and innovation and the work of inventors and the technologies they create.

Cover of American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D
Lemelson Center Books

American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D

How America's individual inventors persisted alongside corporate R&D labs as an important source of inventions. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Beyond Bakelite book cover
Lemelson Center Books

Beyond Bakelite: Leo Baekeland and the Business of Science and Invention

The changing relationships between science and industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, illustrated by the career of the “father of plastics.” Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Detail of Handprints on Hubble book cover, showing astronaut Kathy Sullivan looking out the window of the space shuttle.
Lemelson Center Books

Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention

The first American woman to walk in space recounts her experiences as part of the team that launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

The cover of the book, with the title, “Does America Need More Innovators?” in white letters against a dark royal blue background. 3 rectangular “thought bubble” outlines in yellow (upper left), red (center), and white (lower right) overlap beneath the title, and 3 triangular arrows, like a fast forward button, are superimposed across the upper and middle bubbles. “Edited by” is within the yellow bubble and the editors’ names are within the red bubble.
Lemelson Center Books

Does America Need More Innovators?

A critical exploration of today's global imperative to innovate, by champions, critics, and reformers of innovation. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

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The Early American Daguerreotype Book Cover
Lemelson Center Books

The Early American Daguerreotype

The Early American Daguerreotype maps the evolution of the daguerreotype, as medium and as profession. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Places of Invention book cover
Lemelson Center Books

Places of Invention Comes to a Bookshelf Near You

The "Places of Invention" companion book, edited by Arthur P. Molella and Anna Karvellas.

Invented Edens: Techno-Cities of the Twentieth Century book cover, with an off-center image of a curved, futuristic bridge
Lemelson Center Books

Invented Edens: Techno-Cities of the Twentieth Century

Invented Edens traces the design of "techno-cities" that blend the technological and the pastoral. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age book cover, showing Hopper looking at the camera and holding a cigarette.
Lemelson Center Books

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age reveals the vibrant, complex, and intriguing woman whose career paralleled the rise of the postwar computer industry. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Lemelson Center Books

Inventing for the Environment

Inventing for the Environment describes the many ways in which invention affects the environment. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

The Color Revolution book cover art showing a woman in a swirl of multicolored fabrics
Lemelson Center Books

The Color Revolution

The Color Revolution offers a fresh perspective on the myriad ways innovations in color affect our lives, revealing innovators’ interactions with science, industry, and art that influenced consumer choice and business practice. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

The Spirit of Invention book cover, with a montage of images of diverse inventors and inventions
Lemelson Center Books

The Spirit of Invention

The Spirit of Invention: The Story of the Thinkers, Creators, and Dreamers Who Formed Our Nation (2009) by Julie M. Fenster tells the stories of both heralded and unknown inventors from all eras and walks of life.

The Spirit of Invention book cover, with a montage of images of diverse inventors and inventions
Lemelson Center Books

Notes from the Director: The Spirit of Invention

I’m very excited about the publication of Julie Fenster’s intriguing new book,The Spirit of Invention: The Story of the Thinkers, Creators, and Dreamers Who Formed Our Nation, published in collaboration with the Lemelson Center.

Lemelson Center Books

Power Struggles

Power Struggles traces the invention, commercialization, and adoption of electrical technologies that laid the foundation for Edison’s work. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Internet Alley book cover, with 4 images depicting a computer screen of code, traffic on a busy highway, a military aircraft, and fiber optic cables
Lemelson Center Books

Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945-2005

Internet Alley looks at how government military contractors and high-tech firms transformed an unincorporated suburban crossroads into the center of the world's Internet management and governance. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

A Hammer in Their Hands book cover, depicting a Black woman with a bicycle, 1894
Lemelson Center Books

A Hammer in Their Hands

A Hammer in Their Hands: A Documentary History of Technology and the African-American Experience (2005), edited by Carroll W. Pursell, collects primary sources that document the technological achievements of African-Americans.

The Electric Guitar book cover, depicting a Gibson Flying V guitar
Lemelson Center Books

The Electric Guitar: A History of An American Icon

The Electric Guitar: A History of An American Icon (2004), edited by Andre Millard, explores the electric guitar's importance as an invention and its place in American culture.

Lemelson Center Books

Technology and the African-American Experience

Technology and the African-American Experience (2004), edited by Bruce Sinclair, examines the intersection of race and technology in a variety of social and technological contexts.

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Found 2728 Stories

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