APRIL 2015 - AudioFile
Ashton narrates his book about creativity in a clear, steady voice. An expansion of his lectures and presentations, the book is a collection of stories about ordinary inventors and inventions that changed the world. Ashton reiterates the notion that creativity happens all the time and is brought forth by ordinary people. From Edmund’s hand pollinating vanilla plants to the Wright Brothers’ inventing flying machines to Dyson’s designing the cyclone vacuum cleaner, Ashton reads clearly and methodically. Each story of creativity unfolds a little at a time until the invention flowers and changes the world. Just as inventions take time to come to fruition, so this audiobook flows slowly, challenging and enlightening listeners. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
12/15/2014
Ashton wastes no time debunking the creativity myth, explaining in the preface to this book (his first) why creativity is not the domain of a select few individuals but the result of hard work by anyone willing to put in the effort. A pioneer in radio-frequency identification networks, the author coined the phrase “the Internet of things” and is no stranger to the topic of innovation. His theory—that everybody is capable of creating—applies to individuals as diverse as a 19th-century slave who at the age of 12 discovered how to fertilize vanilla flowers, Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, South Park masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the rock band Fleetwood Mac, and the Wright Brothers (whose attempts to develop “a bicycle with wings” inspired the title of the book). Ashton explores common barriers to creativity, including fear of failure and aversion to change. While he belabors some points and indulges in unexpected pep talks, the author’s detailed account of the origins of Coca-Cola, for instance, makes for fascinating reading, as does his shorter synopsis of Apple’s evolution. Many examples come from the medical and science fields, but taken collectively, the creations documented in this thought-provoking book prove that creative power resides in us all. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Entertaining. . . . [E]nlightening. . . . Might be the genre’s be all and end all. . . . If you want to tap your creative potential, buy this book. It’s the last one you’ll ever need to read.”
—Toronto Star
“One of the most creative books on creativity I have ever read, a genuinely inspiring journey through the worlds of art, science, business and culture that will forever change how you think about where new ideas come from.”
—William C. Taylor, cofounder and editor of Fast Company and author of Practically Radical
“[Ashton’s] is a democratic idea—a scientific version of the American dream. . . . [A]n approachable, thought-provoking book that encourages everyone to be the best they can be.”
—The Guardian (London)
“[How to Fly a Horse] takes on creation’s most pernicious clichés. . . . [Ashton] arrives at his theories by dint of his own hard work. . . . Being a genius is hard work. But that spark is in all of us.”
—The Washington Post
“An inspiring vision of creativity that’s littered with practical advice, and is a cracking read to boot.”
—BBC Focus
“[An] entertaining and inspiring meditation on the nature of creative innovation... Fans of Malcolm Gladwell and Stephen Levitt will enjoy Ashton’s hybrid nonfiction style, which builds a compelling cultural treatise from a coalescence of engaging anecdotes.”
—Booklist
“Ashton’s beautifully written exploration of creativity explodes so many myths and opens so many doors that readers, like me, will be left reeling with possibilities. We can all create, we can all innovate. Move over, Malcolm Gladwell; Ashton has done you one better.”
—Larry Downes, author of the New York Times bestseller Unleashing the Killer App and co-author of Big Bang Disruption
“If you have ever wondered what it takes to create something, read this inspiring and insightful book. Using examples ranging from Mozart to the Muppets, Kevin Ashton shows how to tap the creative abilities that lurk in us all. There are no secrets, no shortcuts; just ordinary steps we can all take to bring something new into the world. Ashton’s message is direct and hopeful: creativity isn’t just for geniuses—it’s for everybody.”
—Joseph T. Hallinan, author of Why We Make Mistakes
“A detailed and persuasive argument for how creativity actually works—not through magical bursts of inspiration but with careful thought, dogged problem-solving, and hard-won insight. Ashton draws on a wealth of illuminating and entertaining stories from the annals of business, science, and the arts to show how any of us can apply this process to our own work.”
—Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work
“If you consider yourself a curious person then you will love this book. Ashton shares so many delightful stories of where things come from and how things came to be, I seriously believe that it will make anyone who reads it smarter.”
—Simon Sinek, New York Times bestselling author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last
“How to Fly a Horse solves the mysteries of invention. Kevin Ashton, the innovator who coined the ‘internet of things,’ shows that creativity is more often the result of ordinary steps than extraordinary leaps. With engrossing stories, provocative studies, and lucid writing, this book is not to be missed.”
—Adam Grant, professor of management at the Wharton School and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take
“Kevin Ashton’s new book How to Fly a Horse is all about the creative sorcery and motivational magic necessary to make impossible things happen in teams or as individuals. Through numerous examples of creative genius ranging from Einstein to the creators of South Park to the invention of jet planes and concertos, Ashton reveals the secrets of the great scientists, artists, and industrialists of the last few centuries.”
—John Maeda, author of The Laws of Simplicity and founder of the SIMPLICITY Consortium at the MIT Media Lab
APRIL 2015 - AudioFile
Ashton narrates his book about creativity in a clear, steady voice. An expansion of his lectures and presentations, the book is a collection of stories about ordinary inventors and inventions that changed the world. Ashton reiterates the notion that creativity happens all the time and is brought forth by ordinary people. From Edmund’s hand pollinating vanilla plants to the Wright Brothers’ inventing flying machines to Dyson’s designing the cyclone vacuum cleaner, Ashton reads clearly and methodically. Each story of creativity unfolds a little at a time until the invention flowers and changes the world. Just as inventions take time to come to fruition, so this audiobook flows slowly, challenging and enlightening listeners. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2014-11-04
As a writer on technology and coiner of the phrase "the Internet of Things," Ashton seems to be a particularly creative type. But the "secret" of the subtitle is that there is no secret, no magic and no mystery.Creation isn't light-bulb illumination or flashes of insight, writes the author. It is step-by-step, trial-and-error work. "Work is the soul of creation," he writes, often with different turns of phrase. "Work is getting up early and going home late, turning down dates and giving up weekends, writing and rewriting, reviewing and revising, rote and routine, staring down the doubt of the blank page, beginning when we do not know where to start, and not stopping when we cannot go on." Ashton shows how work builds on the work of so many others, for generations, thus debunking the very notion of individual genius, or even individual credit. Along the way, he incorporates examples ranging from all sorts of scientific discovery (a process that occasionally involves theft) to Bert and Ernie, Coca-Cola, the films of Woody Allen and the creative dynamic behind South Park. His message is inspirational, that "we all have creative minds. This is one reason the creativity myth is so terribly wrong. Creating is not rare. We are all born to do it." From such inventions as the airplane and the smartphone, Ashton shows how asking the right questions and providing the right frame for the problem can achieve something extraordinary and how important are qualities such as seeing (clearly) and actually starting. "We are inclined to regard passion as positive and addiction as negative, but they are indistinguishable apart from their outcomes," he writes in one of many overstated passages. "Addiction destroys, passion creates, and that is the only difference between them." Ashton makes compelling arguments about creativity and genius but continues to belabor them long after readers have gotten the point.
