New South Wales Fabians are pleased to invite you to a talk by Dr Andrew Leigh, Federal Member for Fenner Positions Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition on his new book, The Shortest History of Innovation. 

12PM at Parliament House, Macquarie Street. As the talk will be in the non-public part of Parliament, please enter through the main entrance and assemble in the foyer with the green chairs. 

From the wheel to gene editing, new ideas shape our world.

In this dazzling, surprising and always entertaining book, bestselling author Andrew Leigh tells the story of innovation.

Innovation shapes almost every corner of our lives, yet we rarely pause to notice it. Someone had to invent nails and wheelbarrows; alphabets and books; glass windows and windscreen wipers; tin cans and synthetic dyes. From tools and technologies to fresh approaches in art and architecture, innovation surrounds us.

Leigh shows that three forces drive innovation: tinkering, teams and trade. He examines hotbeds of creativity, the forces that suppress them, and the surprising ways ideas travel across borders and disciplines. The result is a lively, compact look at the engines powering progress.

A brilliant follow-up to the international bestseller The Shortest History of Economics.

Andrew Leigh holds a PhD from Harvard University, and is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. Before being elected in 2010, he was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. His books include The Shortest History of Economics, The Luck of Politics, Battlers and Billionaires and Randomistas.