How the ThinkPad Changed the World—and Is Shaping the Future

“The ThinkPad was a great success as far as the Harvard Business School was concerned and enabled the increased informatization of its cases and curriculum. From the distance of history, it looks easy but, in fact, it was very hard.” —F. Warren McFarlan, Harvard Business School“Many people have great ideas. Few are able to execute them. This book is a must-read, actionable guide for any executive or entrepreneur with a disruptive idea they believe has the potential to instigate meaningful change.” —Billee Howard, CEO/Chief Artist in Residence of BRANDthropologie Media and author of We-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy.“The ThinkPad provided a much-needed upgrade to the Space Shuttle and fundamentally changed the way we worked in space.” —John Grunsfeld, former NASA astronaut“This is an unusually deep, up-close, and dramatic look at the development of a winning personal computer. It proves that cross-border innovation works, particularly when the greatest minds are involved in spearheading its creation.” —Rebecca Fannin, founder and editor of Silicon Dragon and author of Silicon Dragon: How China Is Winning the Tech Race“As someone who was present at the birth of the ThinkPad and used it extensively throughout my career, I find this book tremendously compelling. It puts everything into such an interesting historical perspective and challenges us to think about what the future may hold.” —James Steele, president, InsideSales.com“The ThinkPad was a great success as far as the Harvard Business School was concerned and enabled the increased informatization of its cases and curriculum. From the distance of history, it looks easy but, in fact, it was very hard.” —F. Warren McFarlan, Harvard Business School“Many people have great ideas. Few are able to execute them. This book is a must-read, actionable guide for any executive or entrepreneur with a disruptive idea they believe has the potential to instigate meaningful change.” —Billee Howard, CEO/Chief Artist in Residence of BRANDthropologie Media and author of We-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy.“The ThinkPad provided a much-needed upgrade to the Space Shuttle and fundamentally changed the way we worked in space.” —John Grunsfeld, former NASA astronaut“This is an unusually deep, up-close, and dramatic look at the development of a winning personal computer. It proves that cross-border innovation works, particularly when the greatest minds are involved in spearheading its creation.” —Rebecca Fannin, founder and editor of Silicon Dragon and author of Silicon Dragon: How China Is Winning the Tech Race“As someone who was present at the birth of the ThinkPad and used it extensively throughout my career, I find this book tremendously compelling. It puts everything into such an interesting historical perspective and challenges us to think about what the future may hold.” —James Steele, president, InsideSales.com

Arimasa Naitoh is one of the world’s foremost innovators in mobile computing. He is credited with being the father of the ThinkPad because he and his engineers in their Yamato Lab have been at the forefront of every new innovation such as color screens, extended battery life, and wireless communications. He also played a key role in preserving the Yamato Lab when China-based Lenovo bought IBM’s personal computer division in 2005. He lives in Fujisawa, Japan.

William J. Holstein is a business journalist and author of six previous books, including Why GM Matters: Inside the Race to Transform an American Icon and The Next American Economy: Blueprint for a Real Recovery. He has lived in and traveled extensively in East Asia. He currently resides in Cortlandt Manor, New York.