Books from the Lemelson Center

The Lemelson Center's publication program disseminates new scholarship on the history of invention.
Above: Cover of Inventing for the Environment.

Books in the interdisciplinary Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation series explore the history of invention and innovation and the work of inventors and the technologies they create. Co-edited by Arthur Molella and Joyce Bedi, and published by the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center and the MIT Press, the series advances scholarship in history, engineering, science, and related fields and disseminates it to a wide audience.

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The Color Revolution offers a fresh perspective on the myriad ways innovations in color affect our lives, revealing innovators’ interactions with science, industry, and art that influenced consumer choice and business practice.
By Regina Lee Blaszczyk
Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation
In press; available from the MIT Press, Fall 2012

The Spirit of Invention: The Story of the Thinkers, Creators, and Dreamers Who Formed Our Nation tells the stories of both heralded and unknown inventors from all eras and walks of life. (2009)
By Julie M. Fenster
Available from HarperCollins

Invented Edens: Techno-Cities of the Twentieth Century traces the design of "techno-cities" that blend the technological and the pastoral. (2008)
By Robert H. Kargon and Arthur P. Molella
Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation
Available from the MIT Press

Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945-2005 looks at how government military contractors and high-tech firms transformed an unincorporated suburban crossroads into the center of the world's Internet management and governance. (2008)
By Paul Ceruzzi
Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation
Available from the MIT Press

A Hammer in Their Hands
A Documentary History of Technology and the African-American Experience collects primary sources that document the technological achievements of African-Americans. (2005)
Edited by Carroll W. Pursell
Available from the MIT Press

Technology and the African-American Experience examines the intersection of race and technology in a variety of social and technological contexts. (2004)
Edited by Bruce Sinclair
Available from the MIT Press

The Electric Guitar: A History of An American Icon explores the electric guitar's importance as an invention and its place in American culture. (2004)
Edited by Andre Millard
Available from Johns Hopkins University Press

Inventing for the Environment describes the many ways in which invention affects the environment. (2003)
Edited by Arthur Molella and Joyce Bedi
Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation
Available from the MIT Press