Inventors are special people. They see everyday objects and imagine something better. They solve problems with new ideas. Their inventions can help people or destroy them, but only the greatest ideas will change the world. This book tells about many of the most interesting and important inventions, from 2,500 years ago to the present day -- p. 4 of cover.

"Inspiring and empowering, this journey behind the scenes of humanity's greatest creations reveals the surprising way we make something new. What do Thomas Jefferson's ice cream recipe, Coca Cola, and Chanel No. 5 have in common? They all depended on a nineteenth-century African boy who, with a single pinch, solved one of nature's great riddles and gave birth to the multimillion-dollar vanilla industry. Kevin Ashton opens his book with the fascinating...