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  • Invention

  • A Life
  • By: James Dyson
  • Narrated by: James Dyson
  • Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (294 ratings)
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Invention cover art

Invention

By: James Dyson
Narrated by: James Dyson
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Summary

Dyson has become a byword for high-performing products, technology, design and invention. Now, James Dyson, the inventor and entrepreneur who made it all happen, tells his remarkable and inspirational story in Invention: A Life.

Famously, over a four-year period, James Dyson made 5,127 prototypes of the cyclonic vacuum cleaner that would transform the way houses are cleaned around the world. In devoting all his resources to iteratively developing the technology, he risked it all, but out of many failures and setbacks came hard-fought success. His products - including vacuum cleaners, hair dryers and hair stylers, and fans and purifiers - are not only revolutionary technologies, but design classics. This was a legacy of his time studying at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s, when he was inspired by some of the most famous artists, designers and inventors of the era, as well as his engineering heroes such as Frank Whittle and Alec Issigonis.

In Invention: A Life, Dyson reveals how he came to set up his own company and led it to become one of the most inventive technology companies in the world. It is a compelling and dramatic tale, with many obstacles overcome. Dyson has always looked to the future, even setting up his own university to help provide the next generation of engineers and designers. For, as he says, 'everything changes all the time, so experience is of little use'.

Whether you are someone who has an idea for a better product, an aspiring entrepreneur, whether you appreciate great design or a compelling story, Invention: A Life offers you inspiration, hope and much more.

©2021 James Dyson. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, UK

What listeners say about Invention

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Engineering Masterclass

As a British product designer, I thought I knew a lot about Dyson the company, and a little about James Dyson.

Hearing the full story, it was amazing to hear his struggle and how close he came to failure multiple times.

I enjoyed the fact James Dyson is reading the book himself and he repeats a line, no more than 3 or 4 times. It is nice to know this engineering machine is still human.

I recommend this to anyone interested in design, engineering or business

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4 people found this helpful

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  • G
  • 15-09-21

He should have got a voice actor and be less ranty

I constantly wanted him to clear his throat listening to this. 11 hours of this croaky voice was a hard listen. Combined with repetition, rants setting the world to rights from his perspective I wasn’t happy with this title.

Add in the places where he went off and explained tangential history that didn’t seem too relevant to the story this book is longer than it needed to be.

I’ll be honest the history of his company and his efforts were enjoyable, although I do know too much about the technology of Dyson devices now!

Audible should check the title as a few places a sentence was repeated, either poor editing or the app playing up.

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4 people found this helpful

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Mad respect for this genius

Call it what ever you want, James Dyson is a genius.

Beyond that, his story, insights and philosophy for design and engineering is captivating.

Steve jobs has been titled as a visionary, and rightly so, and I think James Dyson belongs in this calibre also

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Eccentric British inventor creates fortune from shed…

A good old fashioned rags to riches story; madcap British eccentric inventor changes the world from their shed, except it’s not set in the gloomy smog of the industrial revolution with kids sweeping chimneys.

Enjoyable in the whole and good to hear it narrated by the man himself, which gives a genuine insight into his obsessive compulsion to solve problems we didn’t know needed solving, commitment to excellence and his passion for design and engineering - interspersed with rants about how terrible the UK is at valuing the manufacturing industry and cultivating entrepreneurialism - albeit he is trying to make a difference through the Dyson university.

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Excellent Dyson Brochure

Honestly I had high hopes, and there are some excellent and interesting parts to his history, but overall this is like one long Dyson brochure on how the Dyson company is bigger and better than it’s rivals. I really missed some deeper insights and he often repeats things that have already been explained earlier in the book, if you favour other business / biography books such as ‘shoe dog’ ‘billion dollar coach’ etc, stay clear.

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1 person found this helpful

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very interesting

love that he narrates his own book. very well set out look at the history of Dyson and the present and future ventures. very interesting.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I wish I could have listened to this book 20 years ago

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found James Dyson’s life, his career and endeavours fascinating.

When I was at school, design technology was my favourite subject. I always wanted to be an engineer, a designer, an inventor. I even won a design award for a lamp that I made. This was discouraged as a career option by my school and I could not find a clear path on how to proceed. Had I read this book at school I would have made different decisions with my life. I hope this book inspires others with their life.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

An inventive man with an image to protect

James Dyson is clearly an intelligent and creative engineer whose done some great stuff and rightly deserves credit for it. But he's clearly also obsessed with his image, several sections in the book being used to defend against previous criticism. Some justified and some not, he clearly believes himself to always be right and has a tendency to make bold claims on areas he's not an expert in such as energy retail. I found myself impressed by him but also waiting for the book to end.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Slow burner but great once it gets going

I felt this book took a good while to get going, but once James got into talks out the inventions the book came to life.
Am glad I perceived through the first few chapters, as really enjoyed the last half of the book,
Very interesting

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen

Great to hear the origin story of such a big brand. James as the narrator is a little hard to listen to at times but hearing him tell his life story is certainly entertaining.

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