How often do we think about where the things we buy come from? We're possibly more aware of fast fashion and the miles travelled by our groceries these days but, as we try to change our habits to save the environment, how did we ever think such wasteful behaviour could ever have been acceptable?

In this book, the author tells us how and why products came to be made in the way that they have been, how we've come to be so dependent on cheaper, faster, newer, and how we might be able to use the same ingenuity to make things more sustainable and ethical in the future.

There's a lot of ground to cover and there are some interesting stories here with particular examples of familiar products and their conception in laboratories, factories, supermarkets, distribution hubs. 

The author is Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, the Head of the Institute for Manufacturing and the Head of the Institute of Manufacturing’s Centre for Technology Management.

I do rather enjoy books dissecting modern life and telling us something about the stories behind the things we often take for granted and it's an intriguing book.