« August, 2007 »
Against All Odds: An Autobiography 
by James Dyson (1997)
read: 24 August 2007
rating: [+]
category: biography
I read James Dyson’s biography in 3 days. It is that good. Of particular interest to my readers will be chapter 2, where he just skewers the public education system in England. It was interesting that he successfully designed several products prior to his vacuum, but poor legal and ownership decisions led to him not reaping the financial rewards that should have come his way. Also interesting was the legal battle with Amway, who stole his design (I knew they were evil), and utter lack of creativity from the big name manufacturers that just could not conceive of a vacuum without a bag. Or more likely, couldn’t fathom a business without the highly profitable business of selling vacuum cleaner bags. The book is also quite inspirational if you are itching to build a better something, and I think it will apply equally regardless of if the something is a website, or a consumer product.
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