Founders #263 · · 10 books
Land's Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It
The book this episode covers
Land's Polaroid
Peter C. Wensberg · Reading rank 77 · in 2 other episodes
David closes the episode by telling listeners to pick up the book.
Cross-episode reference · Dedicated episode · Explicit praise · Founder theme · Reread language
Books David recommends along the way
Disney's Land
Richard Snow · Reading rank 46 · in 6 other episodes
David calls this Walt Disney biography fantastic.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise · Founder theme
Instant
Christopher Bonanos · Reading rank 66 · in 6 other episodes
David says he spent the prior two days rereading this company history.
Cross-episode reference · Reread language
Insisting on the Impossible
Victor K. McElheny · Reading rank 102 · in 9 other episodes
David describes Insisting on the Impossible as by far the most comprehensive Edwin Land biography, though not the easiest read.
Explicit praise · Reread language
Tuxedo Park
Jennet Conant · Reading rank 110 · in 6 other episodes
David calls Tuxedo Park a fantastic biography.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise
Autobiography of a Restless Mind
Dee Hock · Reading rank 125 · in 3 other episodes
Cross-episode reference
Overnight Success
Vance H. Trimble · Reading rank 157 · in 4 other episodes
David uses the biography's account of Smith reading four hours a day to argue that entrepreneurs build vision by gathering and synthesizing information.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
A Triumph of Genius
Ronald K. Fierstein · Reading rank 158 · in 6 other episodes
Cross-episode reference
Physical Optics
Robert W. Wood · Reading rank 418 · in 2 other episodes
David discusses how Robert W. Wood’s Physical Optics influenced Edwin Land, quoting Land’s account of reading it nightly and relating it to Land’s scientific ambitions.
Founder theme
Each note is a short paraphrase of why David brings the book up. Book pages show every piece of evidence and its review status. How ranking works