180 Forgotten Inventions Book Expected in 2026

Hungry Minds is publishing *The Black Book: The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Inventions*, a richly illustrated encyclopedia by Noah Charney featuring more than 180 inventions that never entered everyday life. The book grew out of research for the publisher’s earlier work and highlights ideas that were overlooked because they arrived too early, were too costly or complicated, relied on unavailable technology, or were eclipsed by more practical alternatives. Rather than treating them simply as failures, the book aims to celebrate the inventiveness and ambition behind them and consider how history might have unfolded differently.