6 ratings | 2 reviews | avg rating:4.67

Jon Gertner’s Followers (139)

Jon’s Bookshelves

to-read (12)
currently-reading (1)
read (6)

Jon’s Friends (4)

Eric Herman

105 books | 15 friends

Ben Gertner

92 books | 17 friends

Donna DRB

652 books | 27 friends

Liz

343 books | 15 friends

Jon Gertner

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://www.jongertner.net/

Genre

Nonfiction, Science, History

Member Since

March 2019

edit data

In addition to writing books, I’m a longtime contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine. My journalism and book reviews have also appeared in Wired, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. My magazine stories tend to address contemporary issues in science, technology, and business; my books focus more on historical episodes that have had a significant but underappreciated influence. To put it slightly differently: In longer projects, I’m trying to pay close attention to certain aspects of our past so we can better understand the present, and perhaps the future.

My first book, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation (Penguin Press, 2012) chronicles a generation of ...more

Combine Editions
Jon Gertner’s books

Average rating: 4.2 · 10,037 ratings · 1,026 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation 4.20 avg rating — 8,751 ratings — published 2012 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future 4.17 avg rating — 1,286 ratings — published 2019 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Jon is Currently Reading

Jon Gertner is currently reading

On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America

by Abrahm Lustgarten

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sep 17, 2025 04:22AM

rss
Jon’s Recent Updates

Jon Gertner wants to read A Time of Gifts (Trilogy, #1) by Patrick Leigh Fermor	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 29, 2025 02:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jon Gertner is currently reading On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America by Abrahm Lustgarten	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 17, 2025 04:22AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of On the Move by Abrahm Lustgarten. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — On the Move by Abrahm Lustgarten <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jon Gertner wants to read Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 15, 2025 06:59PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jon Gertner wants to read The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 13, 2025 05:18PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jon Gertner wants to read Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins by Barbara Demick (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 09, 2025 12:48PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jon Gertner rated a book really liked it At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Excellent, witty, and very readable.
May 28, 2025 01:38PM · like · see review
Jon Gertner finished reading Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 02, 2025 05:19AM · like
Jon Gertner made a comment on their review of Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland " Ah — so kind of you to write this! Thank you for reading! "
Feb 01, 2025 05:50PM · see review
Jon Gertner rated a book it was amazing Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 01, 2025 02:45PM · 3 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jon Gertner rated a book really liked it Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 01, 2025 02:45PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Jon's books…

Quotes by Jon Gertner (?)

“We have now successfully passed all our deadlines without meeting any of them.”
― Jon Gertner, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

5 likes

“You get paid for the seven and a half hours a day you put in here,” Kelly often told new Bell Labs employees in his speech to them on their first day, “but you get your raises and promotions on what you do in the other sixteen and a half hours.”
― Jon Gertner, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

5 likes

“The first is that if you haven’t manufactured the new thing in substantial quantities, you have not innovated;”
― Jon Gertner, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

5 likes

See all Jon Gertner's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: The Title Game	20218	14596	May 30, 2013 12:53PM
Mount TBR 2018: Neil 0-1 Mt. Vancouver	8	22	Jan 06, 2018 07:14AM
The Challenge Fac...: Dictionary Word of the Month-September Edition	43	61	Oct 19, 2018 03:58PM
Booktastic Bookah...: About You Part 1 2018	7	21	Oct 24, 2018 03:49AM
2025 & 2026 Readi...: Richo's Challenges to Get to 1,000 Books	83	455	Oct 28, 2018 05:12AM
Nothing But Readi...: Level 8 of the Serious Reader Challenge for 2018	15	197	Dec 03, 2018 09:22AM
2025 & 2026 Readi...: Richo's 365 books for 2018	944	646	Jan 06, 2019 03:57AM

More…

Jon’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.

Jon Gertner’s Followers (139)

Jon’s Bookshelves

Jon’s Friends (4)

Jon Gertner

Goodreads Author

Combine EditionsJon Gertner’s books

Jon is Currently Reading

rssJon’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor

See a Problem?

Preview — On the Move by Abrahm Lustgarten

See a Problem?

Preview — Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen

See a Problem?

Preview — The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang

See a Problem?

Preview — Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick

See a Problem?

Preview — Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

See a Problem?

Preview — Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

Topics Mentioning This Author

Jon’s Friend Comments

Combine Editions
Jon Gertner’s books

rss
Jon’s Recent Updates