How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing

LONGLISTED AS A FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY TRIVEDI SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

An illuminating tour through the manufacturing world and its seismic influence on our lives, from internationally renowned expert Tim Minshall

We live in a manufactured world. Unless you are floating naked through space, you are right now in direct contact with multiple manufactured products, including furniture, technology, clothing, and even food. And yet the manufacturing processes by which these things appear in our lives are virtually invisible. How often do we stop to think: Where do the things we buy actually come from? How are they made, and how do they make their way into our hands?

The answers can be found in How Things Are Made, which traces the surprising paths taken by everyday items to reach consumers, from design to creation to the complex logistics of delivery. Innovation expert Tim Minshall takes us on a journey through the manufacturing world, from the smallest job shops to mega-factories, from global shipping hubs to local delivery at your door, revealing the inner workings of the system that runs 24-7-365 to make and deliver the things we need—or want—to live our daily lives, including cars, cakes, phones, planes, drugs, and medical devices. Along the way, he explores how we can improve the supply chain resilience of our global manufacturing system and the impact it has on the natural world, presenting a path to a truly sustainable future.

Brimming with energy and lively examples, How Things Are Made maps the awe-inspiring global system of manufacturing that enables virtually every aspect of our existence. By making sense of this surprising and hidden world, we are able to make better choices for ourselves, our communities, and the planet.

This illuminating tour of our manufactured world reveals:

• The Global Supply Chain: The mind-boggling journey of everyday items, revealing how a single sheet of toilet paper can travel thousands of miles before it reaches your home.
• Industrial Revolutions & Innovation: A fascinating history of how we make things, from the first industrial revolution to the cutting-edge automation and AI shaping the factories of the future.
• Sustainability & The Future: An urgent look at the environmental impact of manufacturing and a practical roadmap for how we can build a more resilient and sustainable world.
• The Circular Economy: A hopeful vision for the future where waste is eliminated, moving from a linear ‘take-make-dispose’ system to one that benefits consumers, communities, and the planet.

Tim Minshall is an engineering academic who works at the University of Cambridge as the inaugural Dr. John C. Taylor Professor of Innovation, head of the Institute for Manufacturing, and Fellow of Churchill College. He is an award-winning professor who researches and writes about manufacturing, innovation, and skills, and regularly delivers talks on these topics nationally and internationally. He also delivers outreach programs to raise awareness of manufacturing among primary and secondary schoolchildren and their teachers. Before becoming an academic, he worked in the UK and Japan as a language teacher, program manager supporting tech start-ups, and freelance writer.