My Book, The Origins of Efficiency, is Out Today

My book, the Origins of Efficiency, is out today! You can purchase it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, and at Stripe Press.

If you want to know more about the book:

• Here’s the post I wrote talking about what the book is about and why I wrote it.

• Here’s an excerpt about Ford and the evolution of the Model T (and here’s the same excerpt on FreeThink).

• Here’s me talking about the book on the podcast “Unleashed”.

• The introductory chapter is available to read on Readwise.

And here’s some nice things people have said about it:

• “Brilliant and comprehensive. Brian Potter is the single best writer in America on how important things get built, and his new book is the single best example of his work.”
  —Derek Thompson, author of Hit Makers and coauthor of Abundance
  
  “This is unlike any other book I’ve read. It is a very high-level whole-systems overview of all known manufacturing processes (past and present), crammed with dense details, stories, anecdotes, and lessons from the front lines. Its grand/minute perspective is unusual—especially for production processes we usually never see. If you have any interest in, or responsibility for, how to make stuff at scale, you need to read this book.”
  —Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired
  
  “Brian Potter does impeccable, detailed research that he turns into clairvoyant insight about civilization’s most arcane processes. Here, he examines the mechanisms that enable spectacular efficiency in the production of goods and services. They comprise, he notes, ‘the engine that powers human civilization.’”
  —Stewart Brand, cofounder and president of The Long Now Foundation and creator and editor of the Whole Earth Catalog
  
  “America has forgotten how to make things. Brian Potter is here to help us remember. By the time you finish this book, you’ll feel like you’re well on your way to becoming an expert in manufacturing.”
  —Noah Smith, author of Noahpinion

I hope you all enjoy reading it!