Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle Reading App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Apple
Android
Windows Phone
Android
To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Best Books of the Year So Far
Looking for something great to read? Browse our editors' picks for 2015's Best Books of the Year So Far in fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, children's books, and much more.
$17.84
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.
Frequently Bought Together
{"currencyCode":"USD","itemData":[{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":17.84,"ASIN":"1616890851","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":11.99,"ASIN":"3836501899","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0}],"shippingId":"1616890851::GdAZX8tQKbB1%2Ft5elvGhJKda9VHlB1Kq0iu0Vb90TusdGTY0o2JZWxTCSbG0xR4XZFTS5%2B%2BLl5MZaRNZor2kPYp%2BLSFn9X6EHH9CI%2BNaPXCqInOFbmffzw%3D%3D,3836501899::IdEM7O0Kfx%2BcMdW6VIDe4gECx9eqDI3%2FA4y5IdDBkrK%2BMxdcL%2FpjDtWPKnS3risSyMMbHMpczPU%2FPNJTKMMBtLLs67dy1DZMvyQpM8FRa70%3D","sprites":{"addToWishlist":["wl_one","wl_two","wl_three"],"addToCart":["s_addToCart","s_addBothToCart","s_add3ToCart"],"preorder":["s_preorderThis","s_preorderBoth","s_preorderAll3"]},"shippingDetails":{"xy":"same"},"tags":["x","y","z","w"],"strings":{"addToWishlist":["Add to Wish List","Add both to Wish List","Add all three to Wish List","Add all four to Wish List"],"addToCart":["Add to Cart","Add both to Cart","Add all three to Cart","Add all four to Cart"],"showDetailsDefault":"Show availability and shipping details","shippingError":"An error occurred, please try again","hideDetailsDefault":"Hide availability and shipping details","priceLabel":["Price:","Price for both:","Price for all three:","Price For All Four:"],"preorder":["Pre-order this item","Pre-order both items","Pre-order all three items","Pre-order all four items"]}}
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Best Books of the Month
Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.
My father was an engineer in the model shops at Polaroid--he started in 1943 and retired in 1980--and worked often with Dr. Land. Much of the story in this book was dinner-table conversation at our house. Christopher Bonanos gets the story of those years right, particularly the personality traits of Edwin Land, and tells it in a very readable way.
In the years after 1980, I paid less attention to the company (except when the corporate takeover goons took away my mother's pension and health benefits) and the book brought me up to date nicely. I think the recent parts of the story are missing from the other books about Polaroid.
Recommended.
2 Comments
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
As an instant film and Polaroid enthusiast, I was pretty pumped about getting this book. I was even more delighted when it showed up though. It's fun to read, I knocked the whole thing down on a long day of travel, and I couldn't have been happier with it. It's a great story of the inner workings of a company and a man who had an impossible idea that he made real through with little more than genius and determination.
The book also offers many full-color photo reproductions and impressive illustrations. Whoever art-directed the book gets a high-five from me. It's beautiful.
Folks who like to read about Steve Jobs and crazy CEO-types need to get on the Edwin Land bus. That guy was the OG super controlling genius boss.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
I have been a long-time admirer of Polaroid (the innovative company, not the one that slaps its badges on sub-par consumer electronics). When I came across this book in my local bookstore, I was enthralled, and read the first 4 chapters in one seating. Not wanting to wait to receive the physical copy, I purchased the Kindle version which I read on my various tablet devices. Unfortunately, while the content is excellent, the presentation of the Kindle version is far inferior to the original book. Firstly, the layout was awkward, with footnotes being relocated to the end of each chapter. Secondly, the formatting was highly suspect. When I flip through the pages I frequently found whole pages missing or repeated. This was especially pronounced when one clicked through the footnote links -- attempting to return to the original text from a footnote often landed one in a completely different section of the chapter! Furthermore, each time the font size was changed, multiple paragraphs will disappear into thin air! This is totally unacceptable, and because of this, even though I ostensibly finished the e-book, I can never be sure how much of it was actually unread!
So in conclusion, 5 stars for the content, 1 star for the formatting.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
I read "Instant" in an instant...at least it felt that way. The book is a very enjoyable introduction and overview of the history of Polaroid and Edwin Land. However, after recently reading such excellent historical books like "The Idea Factory/Bell Labs" by Jon Gertner or "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson, "Instant" feels like it has the depth of an extended magazine article. I was particularly hoping for far more depth regarding Edwin Land himself. And it seems like that information is readily available, if the author had chosen to include it: The book makes several repeated references to older, out-of-print biographical books about Land, which unfortunately makes me feel like I should have just read those, instead.
1 Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
I've been fascinated by photography for many years, own about 8 cameras, took a photography course in college, and stare lovingly at my Hasselblad, who patiently waits on my bookshelf for another outing. Last Christmas I asked for a Fuji Instax camera, recalling the days my grandmother and grandfather would show me the "magic" of the Polaroid film.
What Christopher Bonanos does with Polaroid's history is a bit magical itself, briefly discussing the history of film photography up to Eastman's camera "marketed with the slogan `You push the button, we do the rest,' and the little roll of celluloid inside it built an empire" before delving into Polaroid and its creativity.
Even knowing the outcome of Polaroid's business practices, I was tense reading about the ever-evolving world of film cameras. Bonanos lends suspense to the creative process, showing that "the next big thing" actually has to be discovered about four or five years before production if a company wants to stay ahead. Land was proud of his labs, making the rounds and checking out what his team produced. Bonanos tells the story of Howard Rogers and Land's request that he start thinking about color instant film in the late 40s. Two years later, Rogers approached him, and in 1965, Land said, "My point is that we created an environment where a man was expected to sit and think for two years." Eventually, without a creative leader who demanded elegant, complicated, innovative creations from his staff, Polaroid began its downward spiral.Read more ›
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
![]({"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415N9D6x2RL._SX336_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[338,499],"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415N9D6x2RL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[235,346]})
