The Best Books About Inventors to Inspire Ingenuity

Sarah Breedlove never had anything handed to her. Born to parents who had formerly been enslaved, orphaned at just seven years old, and widowed by 20, she spent her early adulthood working as a washerwoman. But her innovation in Black hair care products — and her sharp business acumen — led to a meteoric rise. Self Made follows Breedlove’s journey to becoming Madam C.J. Walker, who holds the Guinness World Record for being America’s first self-made female millionaire.

Most know Alexander Graham Bell for a single, albeit impactful, invention: the telephone. But the inventor also worked on early iterations of everything from compost toilets to metal detectors. In addition to surfacing some of Bell’s less commercially successful passion projects, this biography delves into his lifelong fascination with human hearing — largely fueled by his own mother’s severe hearing impairment.

Thomas Edison was almost certainly a technical genius. But how did he become synonymous with the idea of American innovation? Like so many technologists that would follow him, Edison built his brand as a master inventor and innovator on the backs of countless unsung assistants — and occasionally by stealing credit from his rivals.

This critically-acclaimed picture book introduces kids to Hedy Lamarr, a glamorous Hollywood film star and brilliant inventor. During World War II, Lamarr worked with composer George Antheil to design a secure torpedo guidance system using a trick called frequency-hopping. Ignored by the military and hidden as a classified document, their patent would later be used to fuel the 20th-century boom in wireless communication technology—without Lamarr or Antheil getting any credit.

It was only decades after Alan Turing’s tragic death that the public became aware of the extent of his contributions to modern computer science — and the code-breaking work he did to save countless lives during World War II. In life, Turing was legally prosecuted for his homosexuality. His fascinating and heartbreaking legacy is now the subject of a critically-acclaimed film starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Bestselling author Erik Larson is known for his uncanny ability to spin thrilling narratives out of historical fact. This “ripping yarn of murder and invention” weaves true crime into the saga of Guglielmo Marconi’s groundbreaking creation of the first effective radio communication system. Marconi’s wireless telegraph would eventually help save survivors of the Titanic and serve as a crucial step in the development of all radio technology.

Most Americans have spent at least a few summer days playing with some version of the Super Soaker water gun, but few know the story of its inventor. Lonnie Johnson, who grew up in Alabama during the days of legal segregation, dreamed up the bestselling device when he wasn’t busy working as a NASA engineer. This delightful picture book shows kids that you never know where your curiosity will take you.

While Galileo did not technically invent the first telescope, his redesign of the new magnifying device greatly improved its capabilities. The astronomical discoveries that followed famously put him at odds with the Catholic church. That makes this unique memoir — which pulls from Galileo’s correspondence with his daughter Suor Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun — all the more fascinating.

In 1903, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio risked their lives and changed the world with the first successful powered airplane flight. This #1 New York Times bestseller from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough explores how Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright became the fathers of aviation without a single college degree between them.

Walter Isaacson is known for bringing historical figures to life in his deeply-researched, award-winning slate of biographies. He brings his usual authority to the story of founding father, diplomat, writer, publisher, scientist, and inventor Benjamin Franklin. From the practical (bifocal lenses) to the whimsical (an eerie and surprisingly controversial instrument called the armonica), Franklin’s inventions color his legacy as an early American genius.