
SAM
One Robot, a Dozen Engineers, and the Race to Revolutionize the Way We Build
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Corey Brill
-
By:
-
Jonathan Waldman
About this listen
A true story of innovation that “reads like a movie” (Seth Godin), centered on a scrappy team of engineers - far from the Silicon Valley limelight - and their quest to revolutionize the traditional trade of masonry by building a robot that can lay bricks.
Humans have landed men on the moon, programmed cars to drive themselves, and put the knowledge of our entire civilization in your back pocket. But no one - from MIT nerds to Army Corps engineers - has ever built a robot that can lay bricks as well as a mason. Unlike the controlled conditions of a factory line, where robots are now ubiquitous, no two construction sites are alike, and a day’s work involves countless variables - bricks that range in size and quality, temperamental mortar mixes, uneven terrain, fickle weather, and moody foremen.
Twenty-five years ago, on a challenging construction job in Syracuse, architect Nate Podkaminer had a vision of a future full of efficient, automated machines that freed bricklayers from the repetitive, toilsome burden of lifting, in bricks, the equivalent of a Ford truck every few days. Offhandedly, he mentioned the idea to his daughter’s boyfriend, and after some inspired scheming, the architect and engineer - soon to be in-laws - cofounded a humble start-up called Construction Robotics. Working out of a small trailer, they recruited a boldly unconventional team of engineers to build the Semi-Automated Mason: SAM. In classic American tradition, a small, unlikely, and eccentric family-run start-up sought to reimagine the behemoth one-trillion-dollar construction industry - the second biggest industry in America - in bootstrap fashion.
In the tradition of Tracy Kidder’s The Soul of a New Machine, SAM unfolds as an engineering drama, full of trials and setbacks, heated showdowns between meticulous scientists and brash bricklayers (and their even more opinionated union), and hard-earned milestone achievements. Jonathan Waldman, acclaimed author of Rust, masterfully “reveals a world that surrounds us but mostly eludes our notice” (The Boston Globe).
©2020 Jonathan Waldman (P)2020 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Rust
- The Longest War
- By: Jonathan Waldman
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Rust journalist Jonathan Waldman travels from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to meet the colorful and often reclusive people concerned with corrosion. He sneaks into an abandoned steelworks with a brave artist and nearly gets kicked out of Can School. Across the Arctic he follows a massive high-tech robot, hunting for rust in the Alaska pipeline.
-
-
Almost too geeky for geeks
- By Norman B. Bernstein on 03-26-15
By: Jonathan Waldman
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
Elon Musk
- Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.
-
-
The best of competence porn
- By Tristan on 08-20-16
By: Ashlee Vance
-
Every Tool's a Hammer
- Lessons from a Lifetime of Making
- By: Adam Savage
- Narrated by: Adam Savage
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam Savage is a maker. From Chewbacca’s bandolier to a 1,000-shot Nerf gun, he has built thousands of spectacular projects as a special-effects artist and the cohost 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.
-
-
I love Adam Savage and I returned this book
- By Shane Brown on 06-18-19
By: Adam Savage
-
Liftoff
- Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX
- By: Eric Berger
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX - and Elon Musk - from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket company.
-
-
Excellent. Would make a good movie.
- By Andrew Dodson on 03-04-21
By: Eric Berger
-
That Will Never Work
- The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea
- By: Marc Randolph
- Narrated by: Marc Randolph
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company—all revealed by cofounder and first CEO Marc Randolph. From idea generation to team building to knowing when it's time to let go, That Will Never Work is not only the ultimate follow-your-dreams parable, but also one of the most dramatic and insightful entrepreneurial stories of our time.
-
-
Cut off at the end of chapter 18
- By Penny posey on 09-25-19
By: Marc Randolph
-
Rust
- The Longest War
- By: Jonathan Waldman
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Rust journalist Jonathan Waldman travels from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to meet the colorful and often reclusive people concerned with corrosion. He sneaks into an abandoned steelworks with a brave artist and nearly gets kicked out of Can School. Across the Arctic he follows a massive high-tech robot, hunting for rust in the Alaska pipeline.
-
-
Almost too geeky for geeks
- By Norman B. Bernstein on 03-26-15
By: Jonathan Waldman
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
Elon Musk
- Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.
-
-
The best of competence porn
- By Tristan on 08-20-16
By: Ashlee Vance
-
Every Tool's a Hammer
- Lessons from a Lifetime of Making
- By: Adam Savage
- Narrated by: Adam Savage
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam Savage is a maker. From Chewbacca’s bandolier to a 1,000-shot Nerf gun, he has built thousands of spectacular projects as a special-effects artist and the cohost 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.
-
-
I love Adam Savage and I returned this book
- By Shane Brown on 06-18-19
By: Adam Savage
-
Liftoff
- Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX
- By: Eric Berger
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dramatic inside story of the first four historic flights that launched SpaceX - and Elon Musk - from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket company.
-
-
Excellent. Would make a good movie.
- By Andrew Dodson on 03-04-21
By: Eric Berger
-
That Will Never Work
- The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea
- By: Marc Randolph
- Narrated by: Marc Randolph
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company—all revealed by cofounder and first CEO Marc Randolph. From idea generation to team building to knowing when it's time to let go, That Will Never Work is not only the ultimate follow-your-dreams parable, but also one of the most dramatic and insightful entrepreneurial stories of our time.
-
-
Cut off at the end of chapter 18
- By Penny posey on 09-25-19
By: Marc Randolph
-
A Practical Way to Get Rich...and Die Trying
- A Memoir About Risking It All
- By: John Roa
- Narrated by: John Roa
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the age of 26, John Roa was an aspiring but struggling entrepreneur. He was broke, racking up debt, and ready to give up on his dream of being self-made. In a final effort, he founded the design firm ÄKTA, which quickly became one of the fastest growing startups in America, and just five years later, he sold it for a fortune to Salesforce, the largest company in San Francisco. This is his account of rising from a self-described below-average student to becoming a poster boy for the successful young entrepreneur, while nearly destroying himself in the process.
-
-
Use caution with my review...
- By MHS on 10-20-20
By: John Roa
-
Sellout
- How Washington Gave Away America's Technological Soul, and One Man's Fight to Bring It Home
- By: Victoria Bruce
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American technological prowess used to be unrivaled. But because of globalization, and with the blessing of the US government, once proprietary materials, components, and technologies are increasingly commercialized outside the United States. Nowhere is this more dangerous than in China's monopoly of rare earth elements - materials that are essential for nearly all modern consumer goods, gadgets, and weapons systems.
-
-
Uncovering unsung heroes of modern America
- By Ben DeNardo on 08-24-17
By: Victoria Bruce
-
Doom Guy
- Life in First Person
- By: John Romero
- Narrated by: John Romero
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Doom Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of gaming’s original rock star and the cocreator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein—some of the most recognizable and important titles in video game history. Credited with the invention of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he is gaming royalty. Told in remarkable detail, a byproduct of his hyperthymesia, Romero recounts his storied career.
-
-
Intimate stories of gaming history in First Person
- By Emyli on 07-28-23
By: John Romero
-
On the Grid
- A Plot of Land, An Average Neighborhood, and the Systems that Make Our World Work
- By: Scott Huler
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In our daily lives, we're surrounded by wires, pipes, utility poles, cell phone towers, and myriad other infrastructure that facilitates almost everything we do. Even though these systems are essential, when was the last time you gave them much thought? In On the Grid, Scott Huler sets out to understand all of the systems that shape our society - from transportation, water, and garbage to the Internet coming through our cable lines.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Skippy the Okie on 01-27-16
By: Scott Huler
-
Made from Scratch
- The Legendary Success Story of Texas Roadhouse
- By: Kent Taylor
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Made from Scratch, the late business maverick Kent Taylor tells the legendary story of Texas Roadhouse and in the process reveals its recipe for success: embracing unorthodox business practices. Because isn’t it a little unusual for a company to do almost no advertising? Is it wild to give away free peanuts and rolls and keep prices low, even as costs rise, or to keep the menu basically the same since it opened? Does it fly in the face of reason to prohibit coats and ties at headquarters and to have a CEO who dressed like he was part of the landscaping crew?
-
-
rock on
- By Eric Bourgeois on 09-16-21
By: Kent Taylor
-
Govt Cheese
- By: Steven Pressfield
- Narrated by: Steven Pressfield
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
People who have read my books, particularly “The War of Art” and its cousins, have a vague idea of the odyssey of a particular solitary guy, wracked with guilt and riven by self-doubt, as he struggles toward his destiny as a writer. But they have only the scantiest conception of the particulars of that journey. These particulars I’m hoping may be of use to others as they wrestle with their own version of that same odyssey. So let me try to strip it down. Let me tell the parts I normally leave out.
-
-
Another Great Work by a great storyteller
- By Vales Tales on 12-11-22
-
Fins
- Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit
- By: William Knoedelseder
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook chronicles the birth and rise to greatness of the American auto industry through the life of Harley Earl, an eccentric six-foot-five, stuttering visionary who dropped out of college and went on to invent the profession of automobile styling, thereby revolutionized the way cars were made, marketed, and even imagined. Harleys Earl’s story qualifies as a bona fide American family saga. It began in the Michigan pine forest in the years after the Civil War, traveled across the Great Plains on the wheels of a covered wagon, and eventually settled in Hollywood, California.
-
-
Great report of amazing history but could do without the WOKE lean..
- By joshua Shaw on 07-02-22
-
Power Play
- Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
- By: Tim Higgins
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tesla is the envy of the automotive world. Born at the start of the millennium, it was the first car company to be valued at $1 trillion. Its CEO, the mercurial, charismatic Elon Musk has become not just a celebrity but the richest man in the world. But Tesla’s success was far from guaranteed. Founded in the 2000s, the company was built on an audacious vision. Musk and a small band of Silicon Valley engineers set out to make a car that was quicker, sexier, smoother, and cleaner than any gas-guzzler on the road.
-
-
Good, but you've heard these stories before
- By Daniel on 08-18-21
By: Tim Higgins
-
The Carroll Shelby Story
- By: Carroll Shelby
- Narrated by: Chris Abernathy
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carroll Shelby wasn’t born to run. He was born to race - some of the fastest cars ever to tear up a speedway. The exciting new feature film Ford v Ferrari - starring Matt Damon as Shelby and Christian Bale as fellow racer Ken Miles - immortalizes the small-town Texas boy who won the notorious Le Mans 24-hour endurance challenge and changed the face of auto racing with the legendary Shelby Cobra. But there’s much more to his high-velocity, history-making story.
-
-
Interesting but not what I expected
- By Pablo Puente Jr on 01-01-20
By: Carroll Shelby
-
Theme Park Design
- Behind the Scenes with an Engineer
- By: Steve Alcorn
- Narrated by: Steve Alcorn
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever gone to a theme park and wondered, "How did they do that?" At last there's a book that tells you. Theme Park Design reveals the secrets behind some of the world's greatest attractions. Take a peek behind the scenes, with a theme park engineer. Aimed at theme park enthusiasts, the book features behind the scenes information based upon author Steve Alcorn's 35 years designing attractions.
-
-
What goes into a theme park?
- By E. C. Naville on 09-13-15
By: Steve Alcorn
-
Stay Awhile and Listen
- How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo and Forged a Video-Game Empire, Book 1
- By: David L. Craddock
- Narrated by: Mike Rylander
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Composed from exhaustive research and hundreds of personal interviews, the Stay Awhile and Listen series divulges the fated meeting that brought the two Blizzards together, the clashes that tore them apart, and their transformation from grassroots democracy to corporate empire. At the center of it all - Diablo, a hack-and-slash adventure through the darkest recesses of Hell that changed online gaming forever.
-
-
Interesting look into the history of Blizzard
- By Matt C on 09-06-17
-
Higher
- A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This riveting, true account of the 1929 race to build New York City's tallest skyscraper evokes the glory of an exciting time long past.
-
-
Outstanding Audio Book!!!
- By Tim on 11-16-05
By: Neal Bascomb
What listeners say about SAM
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James S.
- 01-23-20
Great for architecturally and technically minded+
This is the story of a specific group of what one might call "maverick" engineers who set out to build a robotic system for brick and block laying, and they eventually succeed using bootstrapped funding. Their story is complemented by all kinds of historical accounts related to many aspects of architecture and construction interjected throughout.
It's exactly this type of audiobook that keeps me coming back for more, despite Audible's "very imperfect" recommendation engine.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!