Good Ideas, Week One

It's been a crazy eight days since the Good Ideas World Tour launched; I've done about thirteen events in six cities, and at least twice as many interviews. Thanks to everyone who has come out, and who has bought the book or tweeted and blogged about it. All that work (and fun!) is paying off: the book will debut on next weeks' NY Times bestseller list at #23, in an insanely competitive week to be selling a new book. That's my fifth straight national bestseller, so I am going to take some time tonight to savor here in Chicago, but the tour keeps rolling tomorrow with a flight to St. Louis, followed by Minneapolis, Boston, New York, Dallas, and Austin. Come out if you can!
In the meantime, a few quick updates of interesting reviews and other responses from around the Web. The amazing Cory Doctorow wrote a review for BoingBoing that called the book a "multidisciplinary hymn to diversity, openness, and creativity." Salon is running an interview with me called "Epiphanies Are Overrated." Tuesday's Wall Street Journal featured a very smart column by Gordon Crovitz on Facebook, The Social Network, Larry Lessig, and Good Ideas. You can watch a video of me drinking a very large glass of Malbec and discussing the book on Asylum's Drinks With Writers series.
Finally, tomorrow's Financial Times includes a long review of the book by their columnist John Gapper; it may be my favorite review yet, and it ends with these lines:
"It is much more stimulating and insightful than the average innovation tome and Johnson does not attempt to lock the reader into a Gladwellian conclusion. Instead, it is like one of the reefs that initially baffled Darwin and are so admired by Johnson – a huge diversity of bright ideas co-exist happily without destroying or spoiling each other."
I suspect that will find its way onto the paperback jacket.

Comments

[Caneel]

Looking forward to meeting you at the LSE on the last day of your tour, Steven! http://caneelian.com/2010/10/14/where-good-ideas-come-from/

[Jordan Trunner]

I can achieve far extra than I've, and I'll, for why really should the miracle which developed me finish with my start? Why can I not lengthen that miracle to my deeds of in the present day?

[Takchess]

Where would I send my local library to purchase this as a book on CD?

I enjoyed it in book form and would like to hear it.

[Itir Clarke]

Who can I contact to inquire about booking you as a key note speaker for a customer event I am planning for March in Tahoe, CA?

[Joel Leventhal]

heard your NPR interview; I think you may need to make a distinction between invention-discovery with commercial innovation. Scientists at universities often do the forrmer and engineers-industry do the latter. Maybe marketing and IP law also. Lewis Branscomb has written a lot on this.

[Will Burns]

Love the book, Steven. I have a podcast that is all about idea generation called the Ideasicle Podcast on iTunes, and I would love to interview you for it. I've had David Lubars on, Chief Creative Officer at BBDO, on as well as David Baldwin and Tom Monahan. Each podcast is a different slice of ideation and I think you'd be a great add. Would take a half hour and we'd do it over Skype.

If interested, please let me know. willb@ideasicle.com. Thanks!

Will

[Marjorie Hilton]

I know this is not the way to do this, but I have been trying to reach you from the new Waterworks Museum in Boston. I would like to talk to you about a photo that you have in your book, The Ghost Map. We would like to use it, and I would like a lead to its credits.
I could not find them in the volume.
Thank you.
Marjorie Hilton

[fake handbags]

Looking forward to meeting you at the LSE on the last day of your tour, Steven!

[Jordan Spizike]

We are not able to transform our previous. We won't be able to modify the truth that individuals will act in a very specific way. However the only point we are able to do is play around the one particular string we've got, and that's our perspective.

[best]

heard your NPR interview; I think you may need to make a distinction between invention-discovery with commercial innovation. Scientists at universities often do the forrmer and engineers-industry do the latter. Maybe marketing and IP law also. Lewis Branscomb has written a lot on this. 好秘书 优文网

[Ludivine]

I'm a french student at the Sorbonne University and our US teacher recently showed us your text about " The Glass Box and the Commonplace book" from " What does Generative mean anyway". I totally agree with you on the impact of network and links, to improve people's knowledge. Do you plan to come to France soon ? Ludivine CELSA

[xds]

Looking forward to meeting you
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[uggboots]

I know this is really boring and you are skipping to the next comment, but I just wanted to throw you a big thanks - you cleared up some things for me!

[Abercrombie And Fitch]

At the end of this month, I have a golf outing in Iowa City. The next show I will be attending is back up in Chicago in November.

[Abercrombie UK]

Really awesome page you got there. Some of your posts really impressed me. I will definitely visit your blog again!

[Kalpesh]

"Good Ideas" I think this book is definitely increase the moral who thinks innovative, but the clear fact is that a person who thinks different in a business without technical knowledge are never able to do business with just a concept because its need well technical knowledge and a team, and to find team for just an innovative concept is very difficult because of thefts of ideas without any technical knowledge.

[Suzie Castello]

I heard you talk about the book on To The Best of Our Knowledge. In the interview you mentioned a software program, you use to keep your notes. What is that program? I work in art, dance and food and live in Brazil, so my research is all over the place and in two languages. I am sure that there are links there that I could only hope to stumble upon.

I think that is why I appreciate your writing so much. You see across the boundaries that individual study of disciplines imposes. Thank you for that.

I really enjoyed "The Invention of Air" and look forward to reading "Good Ideas."

[dxs]

really boring and you are skipping to the next comment, but I just
http://www.cngongwen.com
http://www.bestmishu.cn

[HPearle@yahoo.com]

Obama needs your book/article on good ideas. Peter Baker writes in the Sunday Times Week in Review 10/31, that Pres. Obama is seen as elitist, but he does not define it...Perhaps elitism is about being in the KNOW and not listening to OUTSIDERS who are not in the know. Are there really KNOW-IT-ALLS and KNOW-NOTHING people? On my blog: EconomyWiseUp.com I suggest that all Americans must participate in recovery, not just some chosen elite. I put a key hole image to suggest this challenge. THANKS/Harry

[Kyle Arnone]

Hi Steven,

Did you happen to create a database of the "cases" you compiled to make your argument? I would be interested in seeing a statistical analysis of the social origins of the innovations contained in your analysis.

Best,
Kyle