‘An extraordinarily good read … Minshall leads us gently through all the stages necessary to produce all our ‘stuff’ … it also made me laugh out loud.’ PROFESSOR DAVID SPIEGELHALTER, author of The Art of Statistics

‘An illuminating and at times mind-boggling exploration of a global choreography that means I won’t look at my kettle the same way again.’ ZOE LAUGHLIN, presenter of BBC Four’s How to Make, co-founder and Director of the Institute of Making at University College London

‘This brilliant book shows that manufacturing is foundational to our lives, not only now but also if there is to be any hope for a sustainable future. I learned something new on every page.’ PROFESSOR DIANE COYLE, author of Cogs and Monsters

‘Reading this book is like being given a personal tour of the world’s factories by a real-life Willy Wonka. Brimming with insight, curiosity and wit, Tim is a masterful storyteller of the manufactured world.’ DR ANNA PLOSZAJSKI, author of Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making

Tim Minshall is the inaugural Dr John C. Taylor Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, the head of the Engineering Department’s Institute for Manufacturing and a fellow of Churchill College. His research, teaching and outreach are focused on the links between manufacturing and innovation. He lives in Cambridge with his scientist wife, Nicola.