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Maintenance of Everything - Stewart Brand

By Stewart Brand

Release Date: 2026-01-20

Genre: Transportation

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The first in-depth exploration of maintenanceā€”and a powerful argument for its civilizational importanceā€”from the author of How Buildings Learn and creator of the Whole Earth Catalog.

Maintenance is what keeps everything going. Itā€™s what keeps life going. Yet itā€™s also easy to shirk or deferā€”until the thing breaks, the system falters, and everything stops. The apparent paradox is profound: Maintenance is absolutely necessary and maintenance is optional.

The first in a multi-volume work, Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One offers a comprehensive overview of the civilizational importance of maintenance. The book begins with a dramatic contest of maintenance styles under life-critical conditions: the Golden Globe around-the-world solo sailboat race of 1968. It goes on to explore the insights that can be gleaned from vehicle maintenance, from the zeal of motorcycle maintainers to the maintenance philosophies that fought for dominance of the auto industry to the state of electric vehicle manufacturing today, with absorbing detours into the evolution of precision in manufacturing, the enduring importance of manuals, sustainment in the military, and the never-ending battle against corrosion.

Maintenance: Of Everything is a wide-ranging and provocative call to expand what we mean by ā€œmaintenanceā€ā€”not just the tiresome preventative tasks but the whole grand process of keeping a thing going. It invites us to understand not only the profound impact maintenance has on our daily lives but also why taking responsibility for maintaining somethingā€”whether a motorcycle, a monument, or our very planetā€”can be a radical act.

ā€œNo one else but Stewart Brand is talking about the art and science of maintenance and how to do it well. This will be an instant classic.ā€
ā€”Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired

ā€œA deliciously good book.ā€
ā€”Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist

Maintenance of Everything - Stewart Brand

By Stewart Brand

Release Date: 2026-01-20

Genre: Transportation

(0 ratings)
Read Download
The first in-depth exploration of maintenanceā€”and a powerful argument for its civilizational importanceā€”from the author of How Buildings Learn and creator of the Whole Earth Catalog.

Maintenance is what keeps everything going. Itā€™s what keeps life going. Yet itā€™s also easy to shirk or deferā€”until the thing breaks, the system falters, and everything stops. The apparent paradox is profound: Maintenance is absolutely necessary and maintenance is optional.

The first in a multi-volume work, Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One offers a comprehensive overview of the civilizational importance of maintenance. The book begins with a dramatic contest of maintenance styles under life-critical conditions: the Golden Globe around-the-world solo sailboat race of 1968. It goes on to explore the insights that can be gleaned from vehicle maintenance, from the zeal of motorcycle maintainers to the maintenance philosophies that fought for dominance of the auto industry to the state of electric vehicle manufacturing today, with absorbing detours into the evolution of precision in manufacturing, the enduring importance of manuals, sustainment in the military, and the never-ending battle against corrosion.

Maintenance: Of Everything is a wide-ranging and provocative call to expand what we mean by ā€œmaintenanceā€ā€”not just the tiresome preventative tasks but the whole grand process of keeping a thing going. It invites us to understand not only the profound impact maintenance has on our daily lives but also why taking responsibility for maintaining somethingā€”whether a motorcycle, a monument, or our very planetā€”can be a radical act.

ā€œNo one else but Stewart Brand is talking about the art and science of maintenance and how to do it well. This will be an instant classic.ā€
ā€”Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired

ā€œA deliciously good book.ā€
ā€”Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist

More by Stewart Brand

Whole Earth Discipline

Maintenance of Everything

How Buildings Learn

The Clock Of The Long Now

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