In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius and greed, innocence and deceit, and corporate arrogance versus independent brilliance. In other words, the very qualities that have made this country -- for better or for worse -- what it is. 
Many men have laid claim to the title "The Father of Television" but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Farnsworth may have ended up a footnote in history, yet he was the first to demonstrate an electronic process for scanning, transmitting and receiving moving images, a discovery that changed the way we live. 
Growing up on a small farm in Idaho, Farnsworth was fascinated by anything scientific, especially the newest thing on the market -- radio. Wouldn't it be even more miraculous to project images along with the sound? Driven by his obsession, Farnsworth found a local philanthropist willing to fund his dream. By the age of twenty, in 1926, Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing his first patent applications. The resulting publicity brought him to the attention of David Sarnoff, the celebrated founder of the NBC radio network, whose own RCA laboratories soon began investigating -- without much success -- a way to transmit a moving image. Determined to control television the way he monopolized radio -- by owning all the royalty producing patents--Sarnoff, from the lofty heights of his office in a New York skyscraper, devised a plan to steal credit for Farnsworth's designs. 
Vividly written, and based on original research, including interviews with surviving members of the Farnsworth family The Last Lone Inventor is the story of the epic struggle between two equally passionate adversaries and how their clash symbolized a turning point in the culture of creativity.

The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius Deceit and Birth of Television

Biographies & Memoirs

Evan I. Schwartz

Professionals & Academics

HarperCollins, Publishers

Webonomics - Nine Essential Principles for Growing Your Business on the World Wide Web

Business & Money

Penguin??Books

A groundbreaking new look at an American icon, THE WIZARD OF OZ. 
Finding Oz tells the remarkable tale behind one of the world's most enduring and best loved stories. Offering profound new insights into the true origins and meaning of L. Frank Baum's 1900 masterwork, it delves into the personal turmoil and spiritual transformation that fueled Baum's fantastical parable of the American Dream. Prior to becoming an impresario of children's adventure tales--the J. K. Rowling of his age--Baum failed at a series of careers and nearly lost his soul before setting out on a journey of discovery that would lead to the Land of Oz. 
Drawing on original research, Evan Schwartz debunks popular misconceptions and shows how the people, places, and events in Baum's life gave birth to his unforgettable images and characters. The Yellow Brick Road was real, the Emerald City evoked the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and Baum's mother-in-law, the radical women's rights leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, inspired his dual view of witches--as good and wicked. A narrative that sweeps across late nineteenth-century America, Finding Oz ultimately reveals how failure and heartbreak can sometimes lead to redemption and bliss, and how one individual can ignite the imagination of the entire world.

Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American Story

Arts & Literature

Houghton, mifflin, harcourt

As the 1970s end, two star-crossed high-school lovers from Long Island go on a mystical journey that takes them deep into the heart of rock ‘n’ roll — and puts them on a collision course with their hero, John Lennon.\nSuspenseful, funny, and emotional, REVOLVER deftly combines a coming-of-age story, a deep dive into rock history, and an exploration of the enduring power of music. All set to a soundtrack of the breakthrough albums of the era.\nThis big-hearted debut novel from Evan I. Schwartz serves as a resonant reminder of John Lennon’s enduring legacy, and inspires us to reimagine a better world.\nADVANCE PRAISE for REVOLVER:\n“I love REVOLVER for the balance between pathos and humor, dark and light. The sentences lean forward, and the characters are as real as people I know.” 
— Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog\n“REVOLVER is an altogether delightful coming-age novel, full of the pain and joy of being young and loving music with your entire being. Wholly original and deeply charming.” 
— Annie Hartnett, author of RABBIT CAKE\n“REVOLVER is a paean to the consoling power of music, a coming-of-age story with a mystical twist. Schwartz’s language sings and his knowledge of 70s bands dazzles. Witty and resonating with emotion, REVOLVER is a flawless debut.” 
— Céline Keating, author of Play for Me

Revolver: a novel

Concord Free Press

Building value in our global economy increasingly demands creating new opportunities and solving new problems. In a nutshell, that's what inventors do. Just as software has driven growth and opened new markets over the past generation, invention is poised to become the X-factor for the future. With a foreword by former Microsoft research chief Nathan Myhrvold, this groundbreaking book takes us inside the laboratories and inside the minds of some of today's leading inventors to demystify the critical process by which they imagine and create. Evan I. Schwartz argues that invention has remained steeped in myth and misunderstanding. We tend to view invention as a byproduct of accidental discovery or supernatural genius rather than what it truly is: a focused quest fueled by a special creativity latent in each of us. Juice juxtaposes the stories of classic inventors with a new breed of innovators, such as hypersonic sound inventor Woody Norris, genomics pioneer Lee Hood, mechanical whiz Dean Kamen, and business systems inventor Jay Walker. Schwartz reveals the brilliant strategies—including pinpointing problems, crossing knowledge boundaries, visualizing results, applying analogies, and embracing failure—that today's inventors use to journey beyond imagination and bring back ideas that can change the world.

Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors

Economics

Harvard Business Review Press

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Books by Evan I. Schwartz