Makers
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4.0 • 26 Ratings
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Publisher Description
This is a short story. They don't even have a written lending agreement: entrepreneurs -- real, hard-working entrepreneurs -- you can trust on a handshake. 'You're going to help Americans who lost their jobs in your factories buy goats and cellphones?' We're going to give them loans and coordination to start businesses that use information, materials science, commodified software and hardware designs, and creativity to wring a profit from the air around us. Here, catch!' He dug into his suit-jacket and flung a small object toward Freddy, who fumbled it. It fell onto Suzanne's keyboard. She picked it up. It looked like a keychain laser-pointer, or maybe a novelty light-saber. 'Switch it on, Suzanne, please, and shine it, oh, on that wall there. ' Kettlewell pointed at the upholstered retractable wall that divided the hotel ballroom into two functional spaces.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this tour de force, Doctorow (Little Brother) uses the contradictions of two overused SF themes the decline and fall of America and the boundless optimism of open source/hacker culture to draw one of the most brilliant reimaginings of the near future since cyberpunk wore out its mirror shades. Perry Gibbons and Lester Banks, typical brilliant geeks in a garage, are trash-hackers who find inspiration in the growing pile of technical junk. Attracting the attention of suits and smart reporter Suzanne Church, the duo soon get involved with cheap and easy 3D printing, a cure for obesity and crowd-sourced theme parks. The result is bitingly realistic and miraculously avoids clich or predictability. While dates and details occasionally contradict one another, Doctorow's combination of business strategy, brilliant product ideas and laugh-out-loud moments of insight will keep readers powering through this quick-moving tale.
