Ranked #28 in Engineering, Ranked #55 in Technology — see more rankings.
From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs officially, the research and development wing of AT&T was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, it s hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn t been touched by Bell Labs.
Why did so many... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Idea Factory from the world's leading experts.
![](https://media.shortform.com/avatars/mark-zuckerberg-45329.jpg)
Mark Zuckerberg Founder/FacebookMy next book for A Year of Books is The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation. I'm very interested in what causes innovation -- what kinds of people, questions and environments. This book explores that question by looking at Bell Labs, which was one of the most innovative labs in history. As an aside, I loved The Three-Body Problem and highly recommend it. If you're interested in Chinese history, virtual reality and science fiction -- I'm three for three! -- then you'll enjoy this book. I'm going to try to fit in the sequel before the end of the year as well. (Source)
![](https://media.shortform.com/avatars/ron-conway-45742.jpg)
Ron Conway Recommends this book
Rankings by Category
The Idea Factory is ranked in the following categories:
- #86 in History Of Science
- #56 in How Things Work
- #68 in Linkedin