<p><strong>From Alec Nevala-Lee the author of the Hugo and Locus Award finalist <em>Astounding</em> comes a revelatory biography of the visionary designer who defined the rules of startup culture and shaped America’s idea of the future.</strong></p><p>During his lifetime Buckminster Fuller was hailed as one of the greatest geniuses of the twentieth century. As the architectural designer and futurist best known for the geodesic dome he enthralled a vast popular audience inspired devotion from both the counterculture and the establishment and was praised as a modern Leonardo da Vinci. To his admirers he exemplified what one man could accomplish by approaching urgent design problems using a radically unconventional set of strategies which he based on a mystical conception of the universe’s geometry. His views on sustainability as embodied in the image of Spaceship Earth convinced him that it was possible to provide for all humanity through the efficient use of planetary resources. From Epcot Center to the molecule named in his honor as the buckyball Fuller’s legacy endures to this day and his belief in the transformative potential of technology profoundly influenced the founders of Silicon Valley.</p><p><em>Inventor of the Future</em> is the first authoritative biography to cover all aspects of Fuller’s career. Drawing on meticulous research dozens of interviews and thousands of unpublished documents Nevala-Lee has produced a riveting portrait that transcends the myth of Fuller as an otherworldly generalist. It reconstructs the true origins of his most famous inventions including the Dymaxion Car the Wichita House and the dome itself; his fraught relationships with his students and collaborators; his interactions with Frank Lloyd Wright Isamu Noguchi Clare Boothe Luce John Cage Steve Jobs and many others; and his tumultuous private life in which his determination to succeed on his own terms came at an immense personal cost. In an era of accelerating change Fuller’s example remains enormously relevant and his lessons for designers activists and innovators are as powerful and essential as ever.</p><p>Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.</p>
