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Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It Hardcover – May 7, 2019

by Adam Savage (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,770 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“An imperative how-to for creativity.” —Nick Offerman

Adam Savage—star of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters and one of the most beloved figures in science and tech—shares his golden rules of creativity, from finding inspiration to following through and successfully making your idea a reality.

Every Tool’s a Hammer is a chronicle of my life as a maker. It’s an exploration of making and of my own productive obsessions, but it’s also a permission slip of sorts from me to you. Permission to grab hold of the things you’re interested in, that fascinate you, and to dive deeper into them to see where they lead you.

Through stories from forty-plus years of making and molding, building and break­ing, along with the lessons I learned along the way, this book is meant to be a toolbox of problem solving, complete with a shop’s worth of notes on the tools, techniques, and materials that I use most often. Things like: In Every Tool There Is a Hammer—don’t wait until everything is perfect to begin a project, and if you don’t have the exact right tool for a task, just use whatever’s handy; Increase Your Loose Tolerance—making is messy and filled with screwups, but that’s okay, as creativity is a path with twists and turns and not a straight line to be found; Use More Cooling Fluid—it prolongs the life of blades and bits, and it prevents tool failure, but beyond that it’s a reminder to slow down and reduce the fric­tion in your work and relationships; Screw Before You Glue—mechanical fasteners allow you to change and modify a project while glue is forever but sometimes you just need the right glue, so I dig into which ones will do the job with the least harm and best effects.

This toolbox also includes lessons from many other incredible makers and creators, including: Jamie Hyneman, Nick Offerman, Pixar director Andrew Stanton, Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro, artist Tom Sachs, and chef Traci Des Jardins. And if everything goes well, we will hopefully save you a few mistakes (and maybe fingers) as well as help you turn your curiosities into creations.

I hope this book inspires you to build, make, invent, explore, and—most of all—enjoy the thrills of being a creator.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Atria Books
  4. Publication date
    May 7, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    9 x 6 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1982113472
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1982113476
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
2,770 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and entertaining. They also say it provides fascinating insights into the mind of an accomplished maker. Readers mention the book is entertaining and amusing.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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ReadabilityInspirational contentHumor
87 customers mention "Readability"81 positive6 negative

Customers find the book entertaining, thought-provoking, and idea-giving. They say it's well-written and enjoyable. Readers mention the book is fun with actionable ideas that can be applied to all makers.

"...Such a fun read with actionable ideas that can be applied to all makers!" Read more

"...It is a worthwhile read for DIY/makers of all types." Read more

"Well written for fans of Mythbusters, the Tested channel on YouTube, and ‘makers’. You know who you are if you’re familiar with Adam’s work!..." Read more

"A great book by a great maker! Perfect gift for a maker, or makerspace type person." Read more

74 customers mention "Inspirational content"74 positive0 negative

Customers find the content inspirational. They say it provides a fascinating insight into the mind of an accomplished maker. Readers also appreciate the personal anecdotes, technical know-how, and excitement. They mention the book provides practical advice for makers and incorporates practical ideas for planners, schemers, and DIYers.

"...The stories of his maker career are very interesting as well. It will make you become a subscriber to Adam's YouTube channel...." Read more

"...’ll already know, but it’s good reinforcement and there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom from a true professional...." Read more

"...Finding inspiration on a regular basis* The importance of both techniques and tools, and how to build comfort with both*..." Read more

"...a maker and as a person that I have… I can’t explain how, but it was so uplifting. I just had this feeling like maybe I really can do this after all...." Read more

14 customers mention "Humor"10 positive4 negative

Customers find the humor in the book entertaining and amusing.

"...Full of wonderful insights, self deprecating humor, and an understanding of what it means to be a maker. To be a human...." Read more

"...He writes in a humorous was that I found enjoyable. I will be reading this book again." Read more

"...The book isn’t well written, boring and filled with moments of Adam patting himself on the back to make sure we all know how great he thinks he..." Read more

"Love the stories, humor, etc.." Read more

You are a maker. You need this book.
5 out of 5 stars
You are a maker. You need this book.
I love this book! I’ve only passed the intro and already I am inspired to create more & share!
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Top reviews from the United States

Emily Burk
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring & Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2024
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Loved the quirky one liners that real dove deep into the main idea— functionality and realities behind the inspiration of making. Such a fun read with actionable ideas that can be applied to all makers!
One person found this helpful
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Gregory M Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Learn some great tips from Adam
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2023
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I bought my first copy of Adam's book when it first came out in 2019. After reading, I gave it to a fellow DIY/maker. I bought a second copy to re-read some of Adam's great suggestions on tool organization and storage. I have adopted his "first order retrieval" philosophy on tool storage and it has made my shop much more productive. The stories of his maker career are very interesting as well. It will make you become a subscriber to Adam's YouTube channel. It is a worthwhile read for DIY/makers of all types.
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Elizabeth R
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024
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Well written for fans of Mythbusters, the Tested channel on YouTube, and ‘makers’. You know who you are if you’re familiar with Adam’s work! I’ve given it as a gift to multiple people, all of whom have loved it.
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Eric Ham
4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy read for any maker
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019
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If you’re thinking about getting this book then you’re probably already a maker. There are things you’ll already know, but it’s good reinforcement and there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom from a true professional. It sometimes reads like a self help book, but there are enough personal stories to make it interesting.
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kirabug
5.0 out of 5 stars A book on information architecture that doesn't know that's what it is
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2020
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Adam Savage is probably best known for hosting 14 years of Mythbusters before moving on to his own projects and activities. He recently wrote the book Every Tool’s a Hammer.

I’ve recently added it to my list of books every UX Designer should read.

Seems like a bit of a mismatch, on the surface.

Adam makes things with his hands, with actual physical tools, in a workshop, where he passes them on to clients or advertisers, or uses them on a TV show, or whatever.

A UX Designer like me makes things with little electrons on big screens, with expensive software, in whatever workspace I happen to be occupying but most likely a cube farm, where I pass them on to product owners or project managers or developers, or whatever.

Hell, I don’t even make the final application in most cases, just prototypes, and even then, I crank out a lot of flat prototypes.

Compared to what I do in my garden, or my woodshop, or my knitting, UX Design can feel like it’s a long distance away from Maker culture.

And yet, in his introduction, Adam says this:

"“CODING IS MAKING!” I said enthusiastically to that young man. Whenever we’re driven to reach out and create something from nothing, whether it’s something physical like a chair, or more temporal and etherial like a poem, we’re contributing something of ourselves to the world. We’re taking our experience and filtering it through our words or our hands, or our voices and our bodies, and we’re putting something into the culture that didn’t exist before. In fact, we’re not putting what we make into the culture, what we make IS the culture. Putting something into the world that didn’t exist before is the broadest definition of making, which means all of us can be makers. Creators.

Everyone has something valuable to contribute. It’s that simple. It is not, however, that easy."

The next 296 pages of the book go on to explain what it means to be a maker, and how to be a successful one. The skills and experiences that Adam talks about and illustrates with stories from his own life are shared among makers and include:

* Using your passion to kick-start your desire to make things
* Finding inspiration on a regular basis
* The importance of both techniques and tools, and how to build comfort with both
* Collaboration

I would estimate that roughly a third of the book is dedicated to collaboration, either through examples or recommendations on how to collaborate better with your peers and with those who work for you. While it’s clearly not a book about managing people, it’s definitely a book that acknowledges that no one creates in a vacuum, and how you work with the people around you will significantly impact how your creations turn out.

* Using deadlines to prune your decision trees
* Handling the inevitable mistakes

This is probably another third of the book, if one counts “ways to avoid making mistakes” and “ways to handle mistakes” as a single topic. Let’s face it, if you’re making something you’re also making mistakes. Some mistakes are both bad and permanent, and some mistakes are iterations that lead us to a better state on the other side. Understanding the difference between the two, and what to do about both of them, is a crucial life skill.

* Information architecting your space

And here’s the other third, really. From how you structure your to-do lists to make your work understandable and keep your momentum going, to how to structure your workshop so that you can work within your values, to how to iterate and evolve your own work (using collaboration and mistake-making as guide rails) a huge bit of the book is dedicated to a love of information architecture without ever muttering the words together.

Adam doesn’t focus on the usual IA topic of “structuring somebody else’s stuff”. This is seriously meta “information architect your information architecture” stuff. Without being forceful, Adam makes it clear that honing your craft through observation, organization, structure, and iteration, will allow you not only to apply those skills to the tools you work with, it will also allow you to make yourself into a better designer.

And that’s some hard stuff to learn, yo.

Adam Savage is the kind of writer who doesn’t throw other people under trucks. He rarely (if at all) references mistakes others made around him. When he’s telling stories about both success and failure, he’s the main feature. At first glance, this might seem almost egotistical, and sometimes a the stories feel a little shallow, but it’s really quite polite. Even if we only looked at his 14 years on Mythbusters it’s clear that if he wanted to tell stories about other people’s mistakes, he’s seen things. But those stories aren’t his to tell, or at least, he doesn’t tell them. He approaches the book the way he would a conference session, handing out praise to the people who have helped him succeed and turning a blind eye to the mistakes of the people who’ve failed and learned around him, unless he’s quoting them directly.

He tells some funny and heartwarming stories of growing up with parents who encouraged him to make and do and build. He explains both what went wrong and what could have gone wrong in various project, activities, and life decisions he’s made. He avoids showing us gory photos of all his injuries. He shows us lots of his own sketches, sculptures, checklists, process notes, and finished things.

Most importantly, he reminds us that making is creating, that designing is never easy, that even if we were all given the exact same specs the things we’d create would be unique to each of us. Adam reminds us that we’re all growing, and that growing is good.

So yes, definitely a book I now recommend, because it outlines the culture and decisions that makers, including UX Designers, struggle with daily. And it reminds us that despite those struggles (or in some cases because of them), making things — even arranging electrons on a screen — is a hell of a lot of fun.
29 people found this helpful
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SHAHAR
5.0 out of 5 stars Practical approach for makers
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2024
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Practical approach for makers: it's all about small steps with a moto of start doing, even if you don't all the needed data/equipment/tools.
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Cosmo
5.0 out of 5 stars Adam Savage is a HERO
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2019
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I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who is an artist, writer, coder, builder, ANYTHING. If you make anything you need to read this book. That’s all there is to it. And I’ve gotten so many ideas and had so many revelations from this book alone. It’s so relieving to hear someone of such influence talking about the problems that defined my life as a child and still define my life now. I nearly cried on the third page because I was so relieved that I wasn’t alone in the universe, that my creative struggles were understood, that my emotional struggles were understood… I mean, just to hear someone with that much influence admit to having the same insecurities as a maker and as a person that I have… I can’t explain how, but it was so uplifting. I just had this feeling like maybe I really can do this after all. It’s absolutely a must-read.

Adam Savage helped me to find and embrace the maker, the explorer, and the inventer in me as a child, but most of that got driven out of me as I grew up and recently I'm finding myself having trouble finding things I truly love. I'd convinced myself that I'm not a maker, not an adventurer, not an inventer, not a writer... That I'm just some fool who spends too much time daydreaming about things that I'll never do, things that never will be, and things that never happened. This book showed me that the only thing stopping me from doing and being these things is my own mentality about them.

Hearing Adam giving permission to take things too far, to love things beyond what seems safe, to have an obsession and follow it until it becomes a reality is inspirational. Because of this, I'm taking my art and my writing more seriously, and when I start feeling like what I'm writing about is something that's only interesting to me and everyone else will find crazy, I remember that there's another perfectionist out there who has invested years into making the most accurate replicas of the most obscure objects and having the most complete collections of things that fascinate him and sharing that endeavor and that fascination without worrying what other people think, and that this person has found and founded communities who love these things, or who love the endeavor, just as much, and that gives me the confidence to do, to say, to write, and to make the way I want to do, say, write, and make. And because of that I've found again my love for the things that I say I love. They've become real and true and my own again. I don't know how else to explain it.

This book is a must-read!
6 people found this helpful
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Flowers
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book by a great maker!
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024
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A great book by a great maker! Perfect gift for a maker, or makerspace type person.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Francois
5.0 out of 5 stars So inspiring
Reviewed in Canada on May 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
I have to say that I’m not a big reader. I never have the time to stop, because I have to many projects to do.

It was so worth it to stop during my vacation and to reflect on my past and future projects with the help of Adam Savage.

Adam is a great communicator, I have been following him for many years on his you tube channel. In his book he has the time to really explain his processes from idea to completion.

As a maker and has a project manager, I could relate to Adam.

As a father it gave me great tools and examples to share with my son who is a young maker.

Thank you so much!
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Yerik
5.0 out of 5 stars Uma imersão muito legal na mente de Adam Savage
Reviewed in Brazil on January 21, 2023
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Livro com conteúdo muito bom e interessante pra quem é maker ou quer começar nesse mundo.
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Tcd
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for everyone interested or involved in anything creative!
Reviewed in Italy on October 10, 2024
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Adam is and will be the most interesting person in the whole world, ever.

Not only he's had an extremely interesting life (in his almost 15 years in hosting MythBusters along with Jamie Hyneman, he's done things we could only dream of!), but his thoughts on creativity and making are remarkable and inspiring.

Please, if you already have problems in getting your brain to "sleep, damn you!", do NOT read this before going to sleep.

P.S.: Maybe I'm biased as heck, because not only I'm a fan of MythBusters, but I also follow him on YouTube...
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ChaoticOrb
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely loved this
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2024
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There is more to Adam Savage than I realised and I already thought there was so much! Genuinely a helpful and interesting read.
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Vera G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Adam Savage <3
Reviewed in Spain on November 27, 2023
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Super satisfeita! optimo livro de bolso!
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