Contents: Preface - 1. What is 'invention' and can it be taught? - 2. Some historic inventions and inventors - 3. What needs inventing? - 4. The art of the inventor - 5. Physical thinking - 6. Engineering and nature study - 7. Thinking with the hands - 8. Teaching invention - 9. Developing and patenting an invention - 10. Some of our inventions - Epilogue - Appendix: 3-D crossword - Index -