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  • The Most Productive People in History: 18 Extraordinarily Prolific Inventors, Artists, and Entrepreneurs, from Archimedes to Elon Musk

  • By: Michael Rank
  • Narrated by: Kevin Meyer
  • Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (17 ratings)

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The Most Productive People in History: 18 Extraordinarily Prolific Inventors, Artists, and Entrepreneurs, from Archimedes to Elon Musk cover art

The Most Productive People in History: 18 Extraordinarily Prolific Inventors, Artists, and Entrepreneurs, from Archimedes to Elon Musk

By: Michael Rank
Narrated by: Kevin Meyer
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Publisher's Summary

They never knew how he did it. Few composers write more than one or two symphonies in their lifetimes. Beethoven spent a year on his shorter symphonies but more than six years on his 9th Symphony. The prodigy Mozart finished his last three symphonies (39, 40, and 41) in the span of a few weeks. His 25th Symphony took only two days. 

None of these speed records match those of baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann. Friends with both Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, he was the most prolific composer in history and considered to be a leading German composer at a time when giants roamed the earth. During his duties as court musician for Count Erdmann II of Promnitz in Poland, he composed at least 200 overtures in a two-year period. Over his lifetime Telemann's oeuvre consists of more than 3,000 pieces, although “only” 800 survive to this day. 

Telemann was not the only person whose productivity defied all reason. Greek scientist Archimedes discovered mathematical phenomena that weren't confirmed for 17 centuries. He also single-handedly defended Syracuse from the Romans by building massive catapults, a huge iron claw that could pick ships up out of the ocean, and even a solar-powered death ray. 

Ibn Sina was a medieval mathematician who wrote hundreds of treatises, including a medical compendium used in European universities for the next 400 years. Philipp II of Spain ruled a global empire from his throne in Madrid in the 1500s. Isaac Newton invented classical physics and was one of the inventors of calculus. Benjamin Franklin wrote, published, politicked, invented, experimented, and humored, sometimes all at the same time. Theodore Roosevelt won the presidency twice, was the first American to earn a belt in judo, hunted, wrote numerous books, and read four hours a day even during the busiest moments of his political life. 

This book will explore the lives of the 17 most productive people in history.

©2015 Scott Rank (P)2018 Scott Rank

What listeners say about The Most Productive People in History: 18 Extraordinarily Prolific Inventors, Artists, and Entrepreneurs, from Archimedes to Elon Musk

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  • Bob
  • 21-05-2023

Really interesting!

I enjoyed this book. It’s got interesting content, and an interesting set of people they reviewed. This won’t really teach you how to be more productive, but that’s not the point of the book. It’s just an interesting collection of people to hear about.

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A great snapshot summary of some amazing people!

This is my first audiobook and used my 1 credit to get this and I was not disappointed. This has enlightened me with a snapshot of some great people in history and one of the present. From this those whom I have found quite interesting I now have started to learn more about. The only downside I found was when I was very interested about a person then the chapter ends.
I am very happy this was my first choice.

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Great intro

A great intro into a collection of fascinating characters from history. Some interesting reading to follow this book I'm sure.

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