Reinventing the Wheel: A Story of Genius, Innovation, and Grand Ambition [Paperback]

Steve Kemper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2005

Reinventing the Wheel is the riveting, behind-the-scenes story of the enigmatic and cocksure inventor Dean Kamen and the Segway Human Transporter.

When Kamen invented the two-wheeled vehicle known to many by its code name, Ginger, he promised it would transform the face of personal transportation forever. But when this brilliant and driven inventor attempted to become an entrepreneur, a colossal power struggle ensued. Here, Steve Kemper takes you along for the wild ride. In Reinventing the Wheel, Kemper goes inside Kamen's world of technology development, where nerve and ingenuity collide with high finance and the bottom line.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When, in 1999, journalist Kemper started following the efforts of Dean Kamen to invent a new type of transportation device, he could hardly have known the story would turn out to be at once enormous and tiny. Kamen, inventor of the Uber-hyped Segway (a two-wheeled scooter with an impressive self-balancing system), was already wealthy from earlier inventions (e.g., portable dialysis machines, drug-infusion pumps) when he set his boutique engineering firm to work on the Segway (or "Ginger"). Shrouded in secrecy from the beginning, the project quickly took on a messianic quality, with Kamen proclaiming Ginger would be the primary mode of transportation in a decade. The combination of a cool, mysterious new toy with the timing of the late years of the Internet gold rush created a venture capital feeding frenzy, with figures like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos clamoring to be a part of project Ginger. Kemper's rigorously fair-minded book, which gives all due credit to Kamen and his team, also records Ginger's endless delays, brought about by what he casts as a mixture of Kamen's egomaniacal hubris and his company's inability to think in practical terms (the project was shockingly far along before anyone considered what state regulators might think of the new vehicles that would soon vie for space on sidewalks). The last act is well known. Kemper's book proposal gets leaked and a media circus swirls around the secret world-changing project, only to collapse in a welter of "That's it?" disappointment. The result is a book that is eye-opening and heartbreaking.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

" What really makes the book's engine rev is the outsized personality of Dean Kamen, and the clash of ..." -- New York Observer, June 16, 2003

"... he documents it well in an intense, highly readable book." -- San Jose Mercury News, June 22, 2003

"the book's portrayal of the passionate, eccentric subculture of engineering is fascinating..." -- Boston Globe, June 15, 2003

... [Steve] Kemper is at his best ... -- Popular Science, July 2003

... early chapters of "Code Name Ginger" are rich with stories about Mr. Kamen's zany brilliance and showmanship. -- Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2003

..." works best as a personality profile; second-best as a "Soul of the New Machine" type of project diary." -- Network World

...Code Name Ginger is a lively ride around the block... -- Washington Post, JUNE 8, 2003

...Kemper used his access well to write a fascinating account of the messy process of invention... -- New York Times, June 8, 2003

To his credit, Kemper retains a sense of balance, portraying Kamen as a fascinating yet flawed idealist ... -- Fortune Magazine, July 7, 2003

…delivers the exciting behind-the-scenes story of bringing a dream to the marketplace. -- BookPage, June 2003 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness (March 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060761385
• ISBN-13: 978-0060761387
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,103,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Ride, June 24, 2003

By 

Raymond McCauley (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World (Hardcover)

In 1999, Dean Kamen called journalist Steve Kemper and invited him to chronicle the development of a new invention, "the biggest thing I've ever done." Kemper bit, and the result is this gem of a book.

You may have heard of Dean Kamen as the archetypical American inventor, whose ideas made him a millionaire in his twenties, but who wears his uniform of a denim shirt, jeans and boots everywhere, from the workshop to the Oval Office to the boardroom. Or you may have seen the Dateline story on the revolutionary wheelchair (It climbs stairs! It rears up and balances on two wheels!) his company is even now jumping through FDA approval hoops. Or maybe you know a high-school kid competing in the FIRST robot-building team competition that is another of Kamen's brainchildren.

I loved this book, for a lot of reasons. First, it's unflinchingly honest. This is no worshipful paen to Kamen and the Segway, It is a balanced (pardon the pun) look at the inventor, his company, and the engineering and business behind the creation of the Segway, warts and all. Kemper writes an even-handed account, but the way he cares about his subjects shines through the entire book.

The author respects Kamen's genius, creativity, and sheer chutzpah, but also shines a merciless light on his many shortcomings. And Kamen IS likeable, and every bit the visionary wunderkind that the media paints. But reading how his team sometimes suffered in the Great Man's shadow made me squirm.

Although he professes to be neither an engineer nor a business guy, Kemper captures the spirit and creativity of engineering art AND business. He explores the sometimes-twisted and sometimes-sublime group dynamics that manifest when a group of people are pushing the technical envelope. He accurately describes both the "Eureka!" moments and the bone-numbing tedium necessary to turn a great idea into a complex, working whole.

Finally, the book is a great look inside the twenty-first century dream lab that is DEKA Research. The author gives tantalizing glimpses of the other on-going projects along with Project Ginger. And I pretty much drooled over the descriptions of Kamen's house. [...]

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kemper got it right, June 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World (Hardcover)

As someone who is very familiar with the events described, I know that Kemper did a reasonably good job describing the key events that led to the infamous Ginger leak in early 2001. The characters are conveyed well, he has a good handle on the story, and Kemper sees the flaws in Kamen's plan--and the biggest flaw is egomaniacial Kamen himself and the other ridiculously outsized egos he corrals for this project.

Regardless of what you think of Segway, this is an interesting story of
* what happens when "genius" is unchecked by lesser beings
* what happens when a business owner doesn't recognize that he lacks the skills needed to run what he created
* how VCs and investment banks approach new businesses in what I'll call a suboptimal manner
* what happens when someone thinks their (good) idea is more important than it really is.

There are lots of conflicts here that Kemper does a good job of outlining. All in all, it's not bad for a business book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look Inside the Whirlwind, July 27, 2003

By 

J. Straub (Cleveland Heights, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World (Hardcover)

If Edison or Ford had allowed us a peak inside their laboratories, what would it have been like? Clearly visiting one of the various museums dedicated to them does not do justice to the events that went on there. While Dean Kamen?s legacy is not yet assured to be within this group, we fortunately will have a chronology.

Kemper has captured the mystique of the engineering marvel in a book that reads more like a novel than a traditional business book. The various, frank participant comments that he recorded allow us to gain insight into the engineering and management challenges that Segway has overcome.

Many within the startup and capital space suggest that every founder should be cognizant of when it is time to step down and allow others to run more of the show, and Kemper paints Kamen as no exception to this. The book illustrates how Kamen?s micro-management may have caused the project to take longer and cost more than it may have needed to. It also shows how Kamen?s belief in Ginger along with his charm and salesmanship may be what ended up making Segway a success in the end.

The book?s only shortfall comes from Kemper?s expulsion just prior to the Segway?s announcement and launch. Due to his loss of access to the project?s participants at this point, we are prevented from hearing reflections and thus being able to evaluate the success of the project?s culture and management style. Hopefully others from the Segway team will choose to codify their commentary on their experience at some point.

Code Name Ginger will allow you to understand what goes on from idea to creation. It would be difficult not to be drawn in to the engineer?s & manager?s struggle to overcome obstacles to bring the Segway to fruition. It is a look inside the whirlwind ?