There's a reason today's ubiquitous pop hits are so hard to ignore-they're designed that way. The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider's look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters-alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean-this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners' brains. You'll never think about music the same way again. A Wall Street Journal Best Business Book

"Flash of Genius And Other True Stories of Invention" by John Seabrook, staff writer for "The New Yorker," is a collection of true stories about where great ideas come from, and is the basis for the Major Motion Picture starring Greg Kinnear releasing October 2008.

"John Seabrook is one of America's finest non-fiction writers....Fascinating, entertaining, beautifully written and often poignant..."--Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation"

Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

In "Flash of Genius," John Seabrook explores the moment when inspiration strikes in an otherwise average life, and what happens when that idea moves out into the larger culture and takes on a life--and commercial possibilities--of its own. The title piece in this collection is the David v. Goliath story of Bob Kearns, a professor and inventor who came up with something we all use every chance we get: the intermittent windshield wiper. When Kearns' patents were infringed, he fought General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, and eventually prevailed in a classic American story of never giving up, never backing down.

Seabrook has been fascinated by stories of invention and entrepreneurship since childhood, when he grew up with an uncle who invented something as ubiquitous as Bob Kearns' wipers: boil-in-bag vegetables. In "Flash of Genius," Seabrook also writes about his family's invention and about thirteen other iconoclastic visions that turned into the stuff of every day.

"Deeper" presents a brilliant writer's eyewitness account of a fascinating, tumultuous period in the early history of the online world: when the medium moved decisively from that of a geeky hobby to a recognized part of mainstream popular culture.

How do you make a song into a global smash hit that is guaranteed to make millions? Read The Song Machine and find out! From Tin Pan Alley and Motown to Rihanna and Taylor Swift, manufactured music has existed since the record industry began. But who are the hit-manufacturers that can create a tune that is so catchy, so wildly addictive, that it sticks in the minds of millions of listeners? In The Song Machine, John Seabrook dissects the workings of this machine, travelling the world to reveal its hidden formulas, and interview its geniuses - 'the hitmakers' - at the centre of it all. Hilarious and jaw-droppingly shocking, this book will change how you think and feel about music, as well as how you listen to it. 'Revelatory, funny, and full of almost unbelievable details', Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation 'As addictive as its subject' Sunday Times