Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Kevin Ashton's books

790 ratings | 10 reviews | avg rating:3.81

Kevin’s Year In Books

Kevin’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Kevin’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Kevin’s 2025 Year in Books

Kevin Ashton’s Followers (100)

Kevin’s Bookshelves

to-read (143)
currently-reading (0)
read (833)
did-not-finish (0)

Kevin’s Friends (178)

Lily

3,374 books | 1,751 friends

Michael Dean Edwards

24,282 books | 241 friends

Harald Felgner

6,108 books | 630 friends

Kumail Akbar

1,683 books | 385 friends

Sash

1,310 books | 50 friends

Book Riot Community

2,042 books | 6,279 friends

Cara Grey

2,647 books | 110 friends

George

867 books | 48 friends

More friends…

Kevin Ashton

Goodreads Author

Born

in Birmingham, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.howtoflyahorse.com

Twitter

Kevin_Ashton

Genre

Nonfiction, Business, Science

Member Since

March 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/kevinashton

edit data

Kevin Ashton led pioneering work on RFID (radio frequency identification) networks, for which he coined the term "the Internet of Things," and co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT. His writing about innovation and technology has appeared in Quartz, Medium, The Atlantic, and the New York Times. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Kevin Ashton questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

I love ur book "How to fly a horse". What other books do you recommend for creativity, motivation and investment?

Kevin Ashton Hi Sonesh, Thanks for the kind words! On creativity, try anything by Robert W. Weisberg, especially Creativity: Understanding Innovation in Problem So…moreHi Sonesh, Thanks for the kind words! On creativity, try anything by Robert W. Weisberg, especially Creativity: Understanding Innovation in Problem Solving, Science, Invention, and the Arts (2006), Creativity: Beyond the Myth of Genius (1993), or Creativity: Genius and Other Myths (1986); for motivation, perhaps The War of Art (2002), by Steven Pressfield. Best wishes, Kevin
(less)

flag

2 likes · like
Comment

Hi, I blog about IoT and digital manufacturing stuff (in German). I would be extremely happy if you told me ... what has surprised you about the IoT as we know it today, and what has evolved in the way you expected it? Do you think certain Industrial IoT ecosystems will prevail? What will be the next big thing beyond the IoT - the Internet of Thoughts? Can I share your answers with my community? Thanks a lot! Bernhard

Kevin Ashton Hi Bernhard, Quick answers: almost everything about the development of IoT has surprised me. I felt like a lot of my expectations were crazy back in 1…moreHi Bernhard, Quick answers: almost everything about the development of IoT has surprised me. I felt like a lot of my expectations were crazy back in 1999, but now I realize I was not crazy enough; the improvement of wireless networking, facial recognition, the proliferation of cell phones, and the arrival of flat screen displays are all beyond anything anyone imagined 20 years ago, and those are just a few examples. What has NOT surprised me is how valuable the IoT is; that was pretty clear right from the beginning, even if it was hard to believe. Yes, IoT will definitely prevail; it's the only way to do information technology now, especially in business. The next big things beyond IoT will probably come from fundamental science in particle physics, maybe real quantum computing, or quantum transportation of some kind. Feel free to share. Best wishes, Kevin(less)

flag

like
Comment

See 2 answers from Kevin Ashton…

Combine Editions
Kevin Ashton’s books

Average rating: 4.01 · 2,369 ratings · 316 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery 4.01 avg rating — 2,251 ratings — published 2014 — 27 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 Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 139 ratings — published 2026 — 5 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
	Bir Ati Kanatlandirma Sanati 3.56 avg rating — 9 ratings	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
	A história secreta da criatividade 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	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
	Comment faire voler un cheval ?: L'histoire secrète de la création, l'invention et la découverte by Kevin Ashton (Goodreads Author), Jean-Yves Katelan (Translator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 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
	How To Fly A Horse 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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

More books by Kevin Ashton…

28 posts
Kevin Ashton's Blog

Under Maintenance

This site is under maintenance. Please check back soon.

View more on Kevin Ashton's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on June 07, 2021 15:05

View all 28 posts »

rss
Kevin’s Recent Updates

Kevin Ashton is now following Maggie Stiefvater's reviews
Apr 26, 2026 07:51PM · like

More of Kevin's books…

Quotes by Kevin Ashton (?)

“The most important thing creators do is work. The most important thing they don’t do is quit.”
― Kevin Ashton, How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

10 likes

“If your idea succeeds, everybody says you’re persistent. If it doesn’t succeed, you’re stubborn.”
― Kevin Ashton, How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

9 likes

“Confidence is belief in yourself. Certainty is belief in your beliefs. Confidence is a bridge. Certainty is a barricade.”
― Kevin Ashton, How To Fly A Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

8 likes

See all Kevin Ashton's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Book Vipers: Book Hunter Book Lists	137	179	Jan 01, 2017 04:46AM
The Book Vipers: Just finished Reading (2016)	518	188	Jan 02, 2017 09:49AM
All About Books: * Non-Fiction - What are you reading?	5514	1313	Sep 03, 2026 02:25PM

More…

Kevin’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.