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Against the Odds: An Autobiography (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Rural idyll. Death of my father..." (more)
Key Phrases: cyclonic vacuum cleaner, dual cyclone, cylinder cleaner, Sea Truck, Jeremy Fry, Buckminster Fuller (more...)

4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Formats		Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Hardcover Available from these sellers. Published May 31, 1997	Hardcover, May 31, 1997	--	$11.89	$4.92
Hardcover Available from these sellers. Published April 17, 2003	Hardcover, April 17, 2003	--	$60.95	$18.28
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Paperback Available from these sellers. Published September 30, 1998	Paperback, September 30, 1998	--	--	$5.00
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner tells the story of his incredible struggle to design and launch a machine that worked better than all others.

When he brought his Dual Cyclone vacuum to market, manufacturers of traditional vacuums responded first with ridicule, then lawsuits, and finally with imitations. By 1997 Dyson's company was generating annual revenue of over £100 million per year in the United Kingdom, and sales of more than one billion dollars worldwide.

Dyson's freewheeling account of his struggles, failures and successes is interspersed with his unorthodox ideas on business, and his hard-won insights on how to turn an inspired idea into a household name. Against the Odds will inspire engineers, inventors and entrepreneurs and appeal to students around the world.

First published in the UK, this updated edition includes the latest on Dyson's legal and business battles to establish the Dual Cyclone vacuum worldwide, and includes the story of his most recent innovation, the 2-drum Dyson Contrarotator™ Washing Machine, and his launch into the US.

About the Author

James Dyson is an engineer and the founder of Dyson. He invented the Dual Cyclone, England's biggest selling vacuum cleaner. He is also a board member of the Design Council. He lives in Wiltshire, England.

Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Texere; 2 edition (April 17, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1587991705
ISBN-13: 978-1587991707
Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #374,723 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Rural idyll. Death of my father. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cyclonic vacuum cleaner, dual cyclone, cylinder cleaner, two cyclones, upright vacuum cleaner, suction power, licence agreement

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sea Truck, Jeremy Fry, Buckminster Fuller, New York, John Lewis, Dyson Appliances, James Dyson, Prototypes Ltd, Sycamore House, Tony Muranka, Tube Boat, David Hunt, Dyson Australia, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Mike Rutter, Money Programme, Square One, United States, Air Power Vacuum Cleaner Company, Andrew Phillips, Anthony Hunt, Byam Shaw Art School, Chris Wilkinson, Dick Baxter, Francis Bacon

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 4 books:

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade [VHS] by Harrison Ford on page 9
Swallows and Amazons (Godine Storyteller) by Arthur Ransome on page 2
Inland Revenue by Great Britain on page 141
Adam Smith by R. H. Campbell in Back Matter

14 books cite this book:

Exploring Innovation by David Smith on page 18, and page 83
Pricing on Purpose: Creating and Capturing Value by Ronald J. Baker on page 121, and Back Matter
Operations Management: Policy, Practice and Performance Improvement by Steve Brown on page 97
Could Do Even Better: More School Reports of the Great and the Good by Catherine Hurley on page 104
The Ultimate Small Business Guide: A Resource For Startups And Growing Businesses (Ultimate Business Library) by Editors Of Perseus Publishing on page 450

See all 14 books citing this book

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entrepreneur's struggle and testimonial, January 14, 2005

By	John C. Dunbar (Sugar Land, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is a great story of a stubborn, possibly cantankerous, designer turned manufacturing entreprenur. It was a real page-turner and I couldn't put it down.

This Brit took on the vacuum sweeper industry worldwide and now is introducing washing machines that may be technologically superior -- just like his sweepers. He has invented and introduced several products to the world.

Here's what you can get from this book:

1) A humorous story of entrepreneurial struggle and then success,
2) Dyson's rules for product design,
3) Dyson's rules for start-ups for manufacturing companies,
4) Some great words to improve your vocabulary (he's British remember),
5) Lessons in patents and the lengths to which you will have to defend them,
6) How entrenched product manufacturers will buy companies to squelch a superior technology to keep it off the market,
7) How your wayward son who goes off to study art may actually end up richer than you.
8) How to protect yourself from unscrupulous competitors (are there any other kind?)

Most important of all are his rules for design and for startups.

His basic rule for coming up with new products goes like this:

Find a durable consumer product that every household buys. Find out what bugs people about this product. Use technology to dramatically improve its performance -- preferably find the technology in other industries. Look for new materials providing superior durability. Prototype, prototype, prototype. Test, test, test. Then design outward for style and ergonomics (Form follows function.) Don't listen to others. Don't hire consultants. Market and manufacture it yourself. You can learn any subject in 6 months (I think that's a little quick but the point is well made). Keep improving (Japanese style Kaisen) once you have developed your new product (he's developed many improved models once he went into production).

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it heartedly. I wondered though if Dyson wasn't a bit too cantankarous for his own good. I often wondered why he ended up in so many lawsuits and business deals gone awry. Were all his competitors ruthless? Or was he difficult to establish business relationships with? We will never know, and perhaps it's not that important. But there's lots to learn by reading this book. I understand he has another book, self-published, just on the design and invention aspects and I hope to get that book also. I'll check with the wife to see if we need another sweeper. He says they really suck. In fact it sucks up to three times more than competitors. Well, that's his humor not mine.

This book should be required reading at all business schools.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edison Lives Today, October 1, 2004

By	Donald B. Siano (Westfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The story told here, an autobiography, is one of the most inspiring that I've read in a long time. Dyson is an inventor and industrial designer who has taken his bagless vacuum cleaner from the garage to a huge enterprise. I loved this story and wound up really admiring the man. His distinctive approach to industrial design, his perseverance and gutsy self confidence enabled him to show that even in the world of huge multinationals, with all their central research laboratories, there are still opportunities for the lone inventor to make it, big-time.

I especially enjoyed the part about the early development of the machine, in which he made something like one version per day for over three years, varying things one at a time, measuring everything to exhaustion, all the while sinking further and further into debt. Edisonian it was, but sometimes that is the only way--the quest for the quick breakthrough emphasized by modern industrial managers can be a real obstacle to progress. I've seen it at work first-hand.

The book is rather lavishly produced with ten pages of glossy photos, many of them in color, supplemented by many sketches and drawings. The big margins and the attractive typeface on acid-free paper combine to make a very pretty book, worth owning.

This is the sort of book that once you put it down, you feel better about the world, the striving of man-the-builder, and realize that, even in England, things can get better.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories of an Innovator: Building the Better Vacuum Cleaner, December 21, 2005

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This book is subtitled "an autobiography," but it isn't really about James Dyson, the man. It is about James Dyson, the inventor and designer who conquered the vacuum cleaner market. The difference? Dyson includes everything that might explain his success as an inventor, but gives only limited attention to his personal or interior life. Dyson briefly mentions some crucial points, like the strain his ongoing travels put on his marriage, or his wonderment at his companies' many lawsuits, but if you're seeking a man's inside emotional story, this isn't it. However, if you're looking for an exciting account of an inventor who proceeds, as Dyson puts it, in an Edisonian fashion, read this book. We recommend it to anyone engaged in design, engineering, marketing or innovation. The stories it contains, especially the descriptions of inspiration or frustration - are refreshing in this theoretical age, as is his advice on creating and marketing innovative products. Dyson's book proves that a vital place still exists for individual vision and old-fashioned perseverance.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!
Being interested in innovation and entrepreneurship I was looking forward to reading this book, and I was not disappointed at all. Read more

Published 16 months ago by E. M. WOLERY

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Inspiring
His tenacity in getting the cleaner to market is a lesson for us. Many of his observation such as - Engineering is a state of mind, only by remaining as close as possible to pure... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Rajeev Pokkyarath

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read
A good book for anyone who enjoys biographies by entrepreneurs. Not too long and not too much back patting. Some invaluable advice was shared. Read more

Published on January 5, 2007 by G. Raymond Brow

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book to read about the business process
I've read many books on business, having started and now running a successful business for 12 years, this book describes EXACTLY what it is like to start/run your own business... Read more

Published on November 17, 2006 by D. Myer

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
I work for Dyson US and this book is something we give to every new employee. When I got my copy I read it in about 8 hours- I couldn't put it down! Read more

Published on October 28, 2006 by Jennifer L. Lull

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing perserverance
This man had it SO HARD in business, was STABBED so often - and had only SHREDS of money, yet he perservered and created a business fortune of over $750 million. Read more

Published on May 6, 2004 by Sam Biser

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read
I just finished reading a really great book that I think that anyone would enjoy. The name of the book is "Against the Odds" and the author is James Dyson. Read more

Published on October 31, 2003 by A. Burris

5.0 out of 5 stars exceptional
A wonderful story, well-written about a tireless inventor who overcomes great difficulties to create a very successful business, doing it "his way". Read more

Published on June 27, 2000 by Victor Christianson

5.0 out of 5 stars a must for all designers
How creativity can also be learned outside Design Schools, business can also be learned outside business schools?..... Read more

Published on May 25, 2000 by lahade sudhakar s.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Man Of Genius: James Dyson
James Dyson is one of only two men ever honored with having the vacuum cleaner they invented named after them. Read more

Published on November 28, 1999 by vacuums106@webtv.net

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