Innovation Masters―History's Best Examples of Business Transformation

Assembled with the intent of providing a resource for business students, this volume presents 100 products in as many essays. The profiles are uniform in length (about four pages) and emphasize the context of the innovations and the path to successful commercialization. Each includes a bibliography. There is no explanation of how entries were selected, but the focus is mainly on 20th- and 21st-century innovations--primarily but not entirely technical inventions. A sampling: 3M Post-it Notes, pioneering firearms by Colt's Manufacturing Company, the advertising campaign Got Milk?, incandescent light bulb and Thomas Edison, oral contraceptives (from discovery through approval), Saran Wrap, Thermos, Toyota Prius, Velcro, Walt Disney's family friendly theme parks, and Wikipedia, among others. Material has been gleaned from publicly accessible print and online sources such as periodicals, books, annual reports, and company websites. This reference does not list an editor but instead names a product manager, who shaped the work of 10 writers. The contributors are identified as writer/researchers based in the US, Canada, and (one) in Kenya. The entries are not signed, perhaps because the editorial process shaped the finish product. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)