Instant by Christopher Bonanos

The Story of Polaroid

A lively, single-narrative history of the invention and rise of instant photography that follows the visionary inventor behind the technology, the company's inventive high points (including iconic cameras and film), its outsized cultural influence among artists, consumers and advertisers, the eccentric leadership and internal conflicts that shaped decisions, and the market shifts and strategic missteps that ultimately led to its decline even as a devoted community of users and collaborators tried to keep its peculiar aesthetic alive.