31 Inventions that Built Our World

I just love this book - completely fascinating and totally charming. Jonn Elledge breathes life into history and rekindles the utter magic of everyday things. * MARINA HYDE, author of What a Time to Be Alive! *
Fantastic stuff! Jonn has a real gift for making the stories of everyday objects thrilling and unputdownable. * Jay Foreman, co-author of This Way Up *
Fascinating and funny - it’ll have you geeking out over the most everyday things! * JAGO HAZZARD, YouTuber *
A smart, funny, and endlessly fascinating book. Elledge has a wonderful ability to take something seemingly mundane and, with great charm, use it to transform the way you see the wider world. * RHIANNON GARTH JONES, author of All Roads Lead to Rome *
Would you like to learn some supremely nerdy facts about the history of tram, canal, rail and power networks? Door numbering systems? Windows and doors, sewers and shopping? Lifts and escalators? Go on, of course you do. Jonn has emptied his extraordinary brain and created a magnificent, unobvious tour through the underappreciated systems which form the backdrop to our lives. * TIM DUNN, presenter of Secrets of the London Underground *
31 Inventions is an accessible history of civilisation told through the things around us we mostly take for granted but someone - usually someone quite odd - thought up in the past. Elledge’s writing style is warm, witty and erudite, reminiscent of the late, great Douglas Adams. You will not be able to stop quoting facts from this book at everyone you meet, and they will be as amused and intrigued as you are.’ * LEWIS BASTON, author of Borderlines *
Jonn Elledge brings an infectious enthusiasm and a joie de vivre to this masterly story of the building blocks of modern life. I loved it. Read this book to truly understand the world around you, building by building, street by street, city by city. * JACK CORNISH, author of The Lost Paths *
Massively entertaining … Equal parts history, science and farce - but never dull. * JIM WATERSON, LondonCentric *
Far funnier than any book about infrastructure has any right to be. * DANIEL KNOWLES, author of Carmageddon *
Jonn Elledge is a natural raconteur with encyclopaedic knowledge at his fingertips. 31 Inventions that Built our World is a new kind of history book for the modern age. * GABRIELLA BENNETT, author of How to Build a City *
Knowledgeable and interesting, but never patronising nor highfalutin … slips down like a cool drink on a warm day. * ARTS DESK *
Informative, often funny … Mr Elledge’s fondness for obscure trivia is among this book’s many delights. * ECONOMIST *

Jonn Elledge is a columnist for the New Statesman and the New World. He is a regular on the podcasts Oh God, What Now? and the late, lamented Paper Cuts, and a frequent contributor to The i Paper, the Guardian and other publications.

Previously, he was an assistant editor at the New Statesman, where he created and ran the urbanism-focused CityMetric site. For six years, he wrote about cities, maps, and borders, and hosted the Skylines podcast.

He has written three books, including the number-one bestseller A History of the World in 47 Borders. He has also authored over 200 editions of the Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything.

Jonn Elledge lives in London with the best dog in the world.

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