Non-Fiction

Edison’s Concrete Piano

“Best Book Title of the Year? […] the popular science is fun and easily accessible, and there’s more to the inventors’ experiments than the title can contain.”

Los Angeles Times

“Wearing’s background as a science educator is advantageous in this entertaining piece of popular science: she portrays lively personalities and eccentric projects in concrete prose.”

Booklist

“This book sparkles with heaps of ideas, some plain bonkers, others, like the car, more pedestrian. Many are green. But this book is fun and full of quirks because it is about people. There are many more goodies in this readable book […] Of course, not all inventors are bonkers, but they are humans, with all the human frailties perhaps magnified by their creativity and by our scrutiny. This makes a fine yarn.”

Waikato Times

“EDISON’S CONCRETE PIANO is […] one of those enjoyable books that can either be devoured quickly or picked up in a quiet moment for a light read. The book left me with a sense of wonder at the gift these men had – their creativity and resilience. I’m sure my appreciation was enhanced by having a glimpse into the difficulties they faced in their private lives, making their contributions all the more incredible. This book is an interesting, inspirational and easy read, providing pages of fascinating facts and insights.”

MC Reviews

“CONCRETE PIANO is a smart, sophisticated book, full of information gems that have eluded even the most nerdy trivia fans that I know (yes, I have quizzed them). From beginning to end the book engages and gives the reader a fascinating portrait of the personal lives of these inventors, and also the impact their achievements have had. To then delve into the theme of failure—how each saw his achievements in light of his own hopes and expectations, or how the public saw the more radical experiments—is nothing short of brilliant.”

Emily Shultz, author of Heaven is Small and Joyland

“Judy Wearing has written a captivating book on success and failure. In her portraits of sixteen inventors, she shows us how even the most gifted and prolific among them have sometimes missed the mark. But their failures, which only emphasize their humanity, do not diminish their many successful achievements. This book is full of lessons for inventors and non-inventors alike.”

Henry Petroski, author of Success Through Failure