Pictures, pop Bottles and Pills: Kodak Electronics Technology That Made a Better World but Didn't Save the Day, Second Edition (in English)
Synopsis "Pictures, pop Bottles and Pills: Kodak Electronics Technology That Made a Better World but Didn't Save the Day, Second Edition (in English)"
This is not a technical book about electrons and photons. Rather, it is about people and their innovative ideas, and how these ideas were brought to life in new products. It is about the challenges of moving ideas from a development lab to the marketplace, and how some management decisions at Kodak influenced that movement. Brad's candid, first-hand account explores the evolution of electronics at Kodak, and how it expanded with the explosion in electronics technology. Brad describes Kodak innovations from 1960 to 2019, including Kodak's work on spy satellites, photographing the moon from a moon-orbiting satellite, office copiers, automated document management, and many other leading-edge products in consumer and commercial markets, both those that were successful and some that never made it to the market. A second story line is Brad's personal reflection of how Kodak went from being a corporate giant to bankruptcy. He writes, "When we first published this book in 2013, I had no thoughts about a second edition. None. About 1,000 copies are now in circulation, and through the years I've gotten over 50 emails from friends and colleagues. One complained that I was 'too soft on management.' That was correct by intention; my purpose was to document how Kodak's work in electronic photography made our lives better. All the rest enjoyed the book, and some made interesting comments, like: 'What about the Griffin Project?' 'The Manned Orbiting Lab is now declassified, ' and, 'The Ektaprint Copier had a big impact on Xerox.' Thus inspired, I kept collecting news articles, inputs and comments on Kodak through the end of 2019. But now, in this first year of the new decade, 2020, I decided it was time to publish the second edition, to round out the story about Kodak's contributions. I believe it is safe to say that the story of Kodak is not complete, and I look forward to understanding more in the future, as I hope you do as well."
