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Innovation Nation    by David Johnston, Tom Jenkins & Josh Holinaty Amazon.com order for
Innovation Nation
by David Johnston
Order:  USA  Can
Tundra, 2017 (2017)
Hardcover
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Innovation Nation: How Canadian Innovators Made the World Smarter, Smaller, Kinder, Safer, Healthier, Wealthier, Happier by David Johnston and Tom Jenkins is an edition of their volume Ingenious, modified (and illustrated by Josh Holinaty) to suit younger readers. It covers fifty Canadian innovations that changed the world.

The authors tell us that 'Canada's varied climate and vast geography' have inspired innovation from the land's First Nations and Inuit beginnings. They categorize the following fifty innovations under Smarter, Smaller, Kinder, Safer, Healthier, Wealthier, Happier.

Here are some examples. Smarter ranges from the Duck Decoy ('If You Build It They Will Come') to the BlackBerry's communication revolution. The world is Smaller because of inventions like the canoe and the telephone. The Declaration of Human Rights has made the world Kinder as have biodegradable garbage bags.

Life jackets and goalie masks make us Safer. For Healthier we have the inventions of insulin, telesurgery and (yes) peanut butter! Inventions from Canada Dry to iMax made us Wealthier. And Happier? The authors start with maple syrup and move on to hockey and the first Internet search engine (not Google).

The authors end this fascinating volume with advice on how to be an innovator - describing how to Inquire, Ideate, Incubate and Implement. Read and get started!

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