‘Inventor of the Future’ Review: Buckminster Fuller’s Big Designs

1 year ago

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‘Inventor of the Future’ Review: Buckminster Fuller’s Big Designs

The visionary who brought the world the geodesic dome and the ‘Dymaxion House’ was a genius whose ideas didn’t always mesh with the world around him.

Buckminster Fuller next to a model of his Dymaxion house, ca.1930.Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images

By Shlomo Angel

Sept. 30, 2022 11:24 am ET

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Buckminster Fuller believed in solving problems by design. In fact, he believed that all the problems, large and small, facing Spaceship Earth—the term he coined for our planet—could be solved by great minds, if only politicians got out of the way. For the futurist problem-solvers of the 20th century, Fuller was a touchstone, dreaming up inventions like the prefabricated Dymaxion House to address the world’s housing shortages.

Ever the optimist, ever the outsider, Fuller never tired of trying to pull humanity toward a better future. Alec Nevala-Lee’s authoritative biography, “Inventor of the Future: The Visionary Life of Buckminster Fuller” tells Fuller’s story in greater detail than ever. Mr. Nevala-Lee, a sci-fi novelist who has also written extensively about that genre, dwells at length on Fuller’s inventions and innovative concepts. But his true interest seems to be in looking beyond Fuller the myth to Fuller the man. This biography takes the reader on a long and arduous journey, accompanying Fuller as he tirelessly dives into new ventures intended to change the world, never managing to make them commercially successful.

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