Makers by Cory Doctorow

WOW.  Wow.  WOW.  Loved.  This.  Book.

I don't remember where I first read about this book but the author's name caught my eye since he's one of the editors at Boing Boing, a great tech blog.  I took it to Belize and could not put it down.  It was a wild ride and I kept appreciating Doctorow's storytelling ability as well as his sharp eye for how technology impacts us.  I will warn you, though, that this book is not for everyone.  If you are not a geek, nerd, techie, or otherwise appreciative of things like the idea of a 3-D printer, then I'd skip this.

The story is incredibly imaginative and I don't want to ruin too much.  One of the first things that happens in the story is that Duracell and Kodak merge, and the new company's mission is to fund innovation in small pockets around the world.  Silicon Valley reporter Suzanne flies to Miami to check out what engineers Lester and Perry are funded to do - and she discovers them living in an abandoned mall cranking out interesting things on a 3-D printer.  In the early part of the book, Doctorow's demonstrates his grasp of how innovation can be iterative. 

As the book goes on, he exercises his ability to make social commentary about IP law and corporate espionage.  Then while you were busy paying attention to that, he's made you completely invested in several characters fraught with foibles.  And once you are distracted by that, he starts in on the value of open source communities and user-created communities, but without really making the book about technology.  Oh, and he takes on Disney and dieting on the way because, heck, why not?

I came away from this book with my brain chugging to keep up with Doctorow; I felt like he was a tour guide to the future.