Every Tool's A Hammer: Life Is What You Make It

By Adam Savage

* THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *

'Adam has drawn for us an imperative how-to for creativity... I am aware of no human outside of fiction more qualified to pen this rousing paean to making. I adore this book,' Nick Offerman, star of Parks and Recreation

MythBusters’ Adam Savage - Discovery Channel star and one of the most beloved figures in science and tech - shares his golden rules of creativity, from finding inspiration to following through and successfully turning your idea into reality. 

Adam Savage is a maker. From Chewbacca’s bandolier to a thousand-shot Nerf gun, he has built thousands of spectacular projects as a special effects artist and the co-host of MythBusters. Adam is also an educator, passionate about instilling the principles of making in the next generation of inventors and inspiring them to turn their curiosity into creation.

In this practical and passionate guide, Adam weaves together vivid personal stories, original sketches and photographs from some of his most memorable projects, and interviews with many of his iconic and visionary friends in the arts and sciences - including Pixar director Andrew Stanton, Nick Offerman, Oscar-winner Guillermo Del Toro and artist Tom Sachs - to demonstrate the many lessons he has picked up from a lifetime of making.

Things like: don’t wait until everything is perfect - in your workshop or in your life - to begin. Plan with pencil and paper. Sweep up every day. Learn from doing. Share your toys. There is an exact tool for every task (Adam probably has four of them in his wondrous shop), but if you need to pound in a nail and all you have handy is a skill saw - hammer away. The most important thing, always, is just that you make something.

Every Tool’s a Hammer is sure to guide and inspire you to build, make, invent, explore and, most of all, enjoy the thrills of being a creator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: May 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781471185120

Adam Savage

Adam Savage is a maker, designer, television host, producer, husband, and father. He was the cohost of all 278 hours of MythBusters on the Discovery Channel for fourteen years and host of its 2019 spinoff MythBusters, Jr., as well as several other TV shows. He also makes stuff and tells his sto­ries on his website Tested.com. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, twin boys, and two amazing dogs. Every Tool’s a Hammer is his first book.

Reviews for Every Tool's A Hammer

[potds1011 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A lovely book, and a fun listen. It definitely has some clear advice for people who want to get into the sort of creation that Adam Savage specializes in, it holds solid advice for people who create anything at all. It also holds many stories from Adam Savage's life that any Mythbuster fan would enjoy hearing about regardless.

[tduvally-355175 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is going to be an immense help in a lot of what I do. I struggle to feel like I create. I think this book will allow me to feel better about what I can do, and some tools to do more.

[grandpahobo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a pretty good book. Its really an autobiography with some good general observations and life lessons thrown in. He presents things that work for him as suggestions and isn't dogmatic about there being only one way of doing things.

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Equal parts memoir, motivational literature and how-to guide, Savage is mostly writing about what it took to have the career he did as a creator of special affects and where the drive came from. While I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if I hadn't have been a fan of "Myth-Busters," there is sufficient meat there for a general audience. One particular point that caught my eye was when Savage is talking about the difference between failure as learning experience and moral failure. That is to say the difference between a project that is not working out as expected, and one literally goes back to the drawing board, and failure to live up to one's responsibilities, such as letting a client down because of your arrogance, or missing a child's birthday party because you were too drunk to bother; things that make you go hmm.

[narilka · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a fan of Mythbusters I was excited to pick this book up. I was expecting more of a memoir from Adam Savage and hoping for some Mythbuster stories along with thoughts about his life and how he got there. Instead, Every Tool's a Hammer is Adam's ode to his life's passion: making. Part memoir and part instruction manual to people looking to get into the craft this ended up being an enjoyable read, though not exactly what I was expecting. Adam's love and passion for making things shines through on every page and is told in exactly the excited and enthusiastic manner he had on the show. Other makers of all skill level will likely enjoy this book.I listened to the audio book narrated by the author. This continues to be my preferred method of "reading" memoirs. I just wish we'd gotten more insights into his life and career and a little less about types of glue and how to organize a shop.