New York, NY – September 29, 2026 – Hungry Minds’ third, highly anticipated flagship book, written by bestselling, Pulitzer-nominated author Noah Charney, gives overlooked, abandoned and almost world-changing ideas a second life.
History remembers the inventions that changed the world. The Black Book is devoted to the ones that tried.
Following the success of The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization and The Last Book, Hungry Minds continues its flagship series with The Black Book: The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Inventions, a richly illustrated encyclopedia exploring more than 180 ingenious, unexpected and largely forgotten ideas that never became part of everyday life.
A hand-illustrated book, co-created with Pulitzer-nominated author Noah Charney
The Inventions That Almost Changed The World
History tends to remember the inventions that succeeded. The Black Book looks at the ones that didn’t.
The idea for the book emerged five years ago, during research for The Book. As the Hungry Minds team explored the history of human knowledge and technology, they encountered hundreds of inventions that were ingenious, surprising or remarkably ambitious, yet had disappeared from the conventional story of progress.
Some arrived before the world was ready. Others were too expensive, too complicated or dependent on technologies that did not yet exist. Many were simply overtaken by more practical alternatives.
They did not belong in The Book, but they were far too fascinating to leave behind.
180+ forgotten inventions to discover
Those discoveries became the foundation of The Black Book: The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Inventions That Never Made History (one of the book’s earliest working titles) and revealed how differently history might have unfolded. Instead of presenting them merely as failures or curiosities, the book gives these overlooked ideas a second life while celebrating the imagination, experimentation and ambition behind every attempt to reinvent the world.
About Hungry Minds
Founded in 2020, Hungry Minds is an independent publisher and creative studio dedicated to preserving and celebrating human knowledge and creativity through hand-illustrated books and collectible artifacts. The company’s debut title, The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization, became one of the best-funded publishing campaigns in Kickstarter history. Hungry Minds’ mission is to bring imaginative, meticulously researched ideas to life in formats that engage both the head and the heart.
Media ContactCompany Name: Hungry MindsContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: Send EmailCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://hungryminds.com
