A companion to the PBS television series of the same name. Examines the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological achievements of today.

"Award-winning poet and critic Kevin Young traces the history of the hoax as a peculiarly American phenomenon--the legacy of P.T. Barnum's 'humbug' culminating with the currency of Donald J. Trump's 'fake news'. Disturbingly, Young finds that fakery is woven from stereotype and suspicion, with race being the most insidious American hoax of all. He chronicles how Barnum came to fame by displaying figures like Joice Heth, a black woman whom he pretended...

"The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Inaccurate interpretations and outright misrepresentations of the past-cultivated within and promoted by the conservative movement and right-wing media over the last several decades-hold sway among large numbers of Americans, damaging our public discourse. In Myth America, historians Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of historians to provide textured analysis...

The writer of the New York Times Magazine' s popular "Who Made That?" column explains how better ideas enter the world, revealing the fabled "ah-a" moment to be the result of a series of steps anyone can apply to solve the problems we encounter in everyday life. "The writer of the New York Times Magazine's popular "Who Made That?" column explains how better ideas enter the world, revealing the fabled "aha" moment to be the result of a series of steps...

"A little girl has a wonderful idea. With the help of her canine assistant, she is going to make the most magnificent thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. But making the most magnificent thing turns out to be harder than she thinks." --

Profiles eleven inventors between the ages of eight and fourteen, describes the steps involved in inventing a new product, and discusses contests, patents, lawyers, and clubs.

"Rosie Revere is no stranger to flops and fails, kerfuffles and catastrophes. After all, engineering is all about perseverance! But this time, Rosie has a really important project to tackle--one that feels much bigger than herself. Rosie's beloved Aunt Rose and her friends, the Raucous Riveters--a group of fun-loving gals who built airplanes during World War II--need help inventing something new. And Rosie is just the engineer for the job! After one...

Presents some of the characteristics of inventors by describing the inventions of people such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Eli Whitney.

"The future is now! Supercool robots, amazing flying machines, floating hotels--this book is packed with 125 amazing inventions that will make you wish for things you never knew existed! Get the scoop on inventions of the future before they hit stores, like the fish tank that turns your toilet into an aquarium (but don't worry, your fishy friends will be just fine!), or the Cargonaut, a human-size robot that flies around picking up and delivering...