Nine Chains to the Moon

Nine Chains to the Moon is Buckminster Fuller's groundbreaking first book, originally published in 1938 and reissued in this 1971 Anchor Books edition. The title refers to Fuller's calculation that if all of Earth's inhabitants stood on one another's shoulders, they would form chains reaching from Earth to the Moon nine times—a metaphor for boundless human potential.

This visionary work presents Fuller's overview of technological history and introduces his revolutionary concept of "ephemeralization"—doing more with less. Fuller believed this principle would lead to ever-increasing standards of living despite finite resources, using Henry Ford's assembly line as a prime example. The book challenges conventional thinking about Euclidean geometry, architecture, economics, and even language itself.
Fuller's audacious thinking in this volume laid the groundwork for his later inventions, including the Geodesic Dome, and his development of "comprehensive anticipatory design science." He questions fundamental assumptions about progress, resources, and human potential with a unique blend of philosophy, engineering, and social theory that remains startlingly relevant.

R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, inventor, and futurist. His work influenced multiple disciplines, and he remains one of the most influential design philosophers of the 20th century.

Publishing History: The 1938 first edition by J.B. Lippincott is highly collectible. This 1971 Anchor reprint made Fuller's ideas available to the counterculture and environmental movements of the 1970s, where they found an enthusiastic new audience.