This is the first volume in Technical Innovation Centers' TRIZ TOOLS Series. It includes the complete text of Genrich Altshuller's classic 40 Principles, plus: Genrich Altshuller: Father of TRIZ, by Leonid Lerner. Introduction to TRIZ & Three Steps for Solving an Inventive Problem, by Lev Shulyak. TRIZ Contradiction Matrix, one of the most powerful TRIZ Tools for solving inventive problems. TRIZ (the Russian acronym for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) was developed by this book's author, Genrich Altshuller. Studied and respected around the world, TRIZ shows that technical systems evolve following predictable patterns. Consequently, inventiveness can be learned by anyone. Developed underground by Russian scientists, TRIZ has validated itself by solving thousands of difficult technical problems. Over 60,000 engineers world-wide are trained in TRIZ. In 1984, Lev Shulyak, translator of this book, taught the first U.S. TRIZ course. "This book provides a turbo-powered additive to anyone's thought process for creating change." Jerry L. Spight, President, PRISM Q, Inc. Genrich Altshuller received his first Soviet patent at the age of fourteen. While in his early twenties he began developing TRIZ. Stalin rewarded him with 25 years imprisonment in Siberia. Released after Stalin's death, he led the underground TRIZ revolution -- a fundemental shift in the technical creativity paradigm. Used Book in Good Condition