LIFT
Innovation Lessons From Flying Machines That ALMOST Worked and The People Who NEARLY Flew Them
By Dan Ward
.LIFT is a playful introduction to flying machines from the late 1800’s and the inspiring people who designed, built, launched, and crashed them. It is also a serious guide to innovation for 21st century problem solvers.
Blending light-hearted pop culture whimsy with well-grounded engineering pragmatism, LIFT is centered on five important experimenters who tackled the seemingly impossible challenge of human flight decades before the Wrights. Each of these five not only performed experiments with hardware of their own invention, they also wrote and published accounts of their work. Their stories are accompanied by related stories of their contemporaries as well as modern examples ranging from software development to ice cream to superheroes.
These stories are sometimes funny, occasionally heartbreaking, and always instructive. Most importantly, they provide readers with practical insights on experimentation, creativity, persistence, and innovation. The book includes two dozen gorgeous line drawings of these amazing flying machines and a handful of historical photos.
Print version at Lulu.com
eBook at Barnes & Noble or Kobo
Audiobook available at Kobo
DOWNLOAD A FREE EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 3
WATCH A BOOK CHAT ON FACEBOOK LIVE
LISTEN TO A FREE AUDIOBOOK EXCERPT ON SOUNDCLOUD
NOTE: LIFT is not available at Amazon or Audible!
My first two books were published by Harper Business, which was an amazing experience. However, I decided to publish LIFT independently, without the usual intermediaries. I also decided to not sell it on Amazon (check this post for details on why). It feels a bit like strapping wings to my back and jumping off a cliff, so I’m a tad nervous and really interested to see if we can catch an updraft.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR LIFT
“A soaring history of the unsung pioneers of flight, offering real-world lessons for 21st century innovators.” -August Cole, co-author of Ghost Fleet
“If you hope to succeed at innovation, read this book!” Peter Morville Author of Information Architecture and Planning for Everything
“Amazingly thorough and ebulliently written!” Andy Nulman, co-founder of Just For Laughs comedy festival
SUPPORTING MATERIAL FOR LIFT
I put together a set of one-page zines to accompany LIFT. Just download these PDF’s, then print & fold them to make a little booklet. For instructions on how to fold it, check Austin Kleon’s blog post.
Audiobook Bonus: I also collected all the figures from LIFT into this file, so those of you listening to the audiobook can still check out the diagrams, drawings, and photos from each chapter.