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Edison Inventing the Century
Using unprecedented access to Edison family papers and years of research at the Edison corporate archives, Neil Baldwin offers a revealing portrait of one of America's seminal a man whose imagination, dynamism, entrepreneurial brilliance epitomized the American dream as he became a victim of its darker side. "Baldwin has demythologized the man and left the genius bigger than life." --Newsweek
531 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1995
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October 30, 2021
Whenever you turn on a light, you have that ability thanks to Thomas Edison. That much most people who have any interest in history probably already know. But do you know anything else about Edison besides that? Prior to reading this biography by Neil Baldwin, I had a vague recollection that he had some involvement in the beginnings of the motion picture industry, and that he could not hear very well. Those parts are true too, but just stopping there would seriously shortchange all of what Edison accomplished and contributed to.
The man was involved in seemingly everything: the phonograph, incandescent light, electrification, X-rays, motion pictures, iron ore mining, concrete (his company actually poured the concrete at the original Yankee Stadium), and rubber. And no doubt I am forgetting a few things. Edison was a workaholic, even clocking into his own timeclock at his laboratory in New Jersey. He slept very little until the last few years of his life, often working until 3:00 or 4:00 AM, then getting up at 7:00 AM to start anew. Some of his ventures went nowhere, like the mining operation. But Edison had such cardinal successes, and with the vast amount of patents that he submitted over his lifetime, some failures were inevitable. Nor did they deter him from continuing to be creative.
Baldwin explores both Edison's personal and professional lives. As the book goes on, the personal side seems to take up more space. Edison had six children by two wives; three with each wife (his first wife died young, his second wife was two decades younger than he was). Baldwin details how Edison was far from an ideal parent, especially in his first go-round. He was distant and estranged from his three oldest children, while being domineering and demanding with his younger two sons. Edison's relationship with his first wife also seemed somewhat remote and uncaring. He appeared to do better with his second wife, Mina, who was incredibly tolerant of and devoted to him.
While I appreciated Baldwin not breezing past the personal side, sometimes I thought he got a little carried away with the children's activities. He had a tendency to divert onto small tangents about the types of people they were hanging out with and what their interests were. I could have done with less of that, although it does not mar the book. Also, Edison left home at an early age but strangely Baldwin does not write about how his parents felt about that. I also did not get a good understanding of how Edison was able to get his initial financial backers when he was trying to transition away from working for the telegraph companies and towards working for himself. Before you know it, Edison received some timely loans and was off to the races, but I missed why some people decided to take a chance on him.
On the science side Baldwin does alright. He is not heavy on the science aspect of Edison's inventions, but obviously that must be discussed. It is more my stupidity at not understanding Edison's brilliant thinking than it is any defect on Baldwin's part. One of the marks of a good biographer, to me, is that when I reach the end of the book I have to ask myself if the author liked the subject or not. I think that is a good thing because it tells me that the author approached the subject with a level of detachment that I think is crucial for providing a balanced portrait of someone. If there was an agenda, then it was to tell an accurate and entertaining story of an extraordinary individual. And that is what we have here. Baldwin obviously respects Edison's ingenuity and relentlessness in the face of so much toil and frequent failures, while also noting his poor performance as a father and husband, and often cantankerous persona.
Edison suffered partial hearing loss as a child, most likely to some inner ear defect. He could hear, but the noise or the person speaking needed to be loud, and even then Edison surely missed things. In an odd way, I think the hearing defect helped Edison: he could not be as nearly easily distracted by other people and things. Conversations could go on around him while he sat and thought about inventions and improvements to things in his mind. It sort of insulated him from having to put up with mundane conversation, for which he had little patience. He was brusque and blunt with people, but also paid his employees well (although he demanded unconditional loyalty and had fallings out with many people over the years). He also became close friends with Henry Ford and even vacationed with he, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs for several summers.
Baldwin takes Edison all the way to the end, and finishes with a final chapter about Mina and all of the children. I appreciated him taking the time to explain what happened to everyone (Baldwin even met Thomas Jr. shortly before his death). Some of the children had sad endings, while others thrived. What was missing though was a corresponding chapter about the imprint that Edison left on the world. Aside from Baldwin noting the commentary when Edison died, he does not delve into this subject. Overall, this is a good biography about a brilliant man who transformed the world in which he lived.
Grade: B+
The man was involved in seemingly everything: the phonograph, incandescent light, electrification, X-rays, motion pictures, iron ore mining, concrete (his company actually poured the concrete at the original Yankee Stadium), and rubber. And no doubt I am forgetting a few things. Edison was a workaholic, even clocking into his own timeclock at his laboratory in New Jersey. He slept very little until the last few years of his life, often working until 3:00 or 4:00 AM, then getting up at 7:00 AM to start anew. Some of his ventures went nowhere, like the mining operation. But Edison had such cardinal successes, and with the vast amount of patents that he submitted over his lifetime, some failures were inevitable. Nor did they deter him from continuing to be creative.
Baldwin explores both Edison's personal and professional lives. As the book goes on, the personal side seems to take up more space. Edison had six children by two wives; three with each wife (his first wife died young, his second wife was two decades younger than he was). Baldwin details how Edison was far from an ideal parent, especially in his first go-round. He was distant and estranged from his three oldest children, while being domineering and demanding with his younger two sons. Edison's relationship with his first wife also seemed somewhat remote and uncaring. He appeared to do better with his second wife, Mina, who was incredibly tolerant of and devoted to him.
While I appreciated Baldwin not breezing past the personal side, sometimes I thought he got a little carried away with the children's activities. He had a tendency to divert onto small tangents about the types of people they were hanging out with and what their interests were. I could have done with less of that, although it does not mar the book. Also, Edison left home at an early age but strangely Baldwin does not write about how his parents felt about that. I also did not get a good understanding of how Edison was able to get his initial financial backers when he was trying to transition away from working for the telegraph companies and towards working for himself. Before you know it, Edison received some timely loans and was off to the races, but I missed why some people decided to take a chance on him.
On the science side Baldwin does alright. He is not heavy on the science aspect of Edison's inventions, but obviously that must be discussed. It is more my stupidity at not understanding Edison's brilliant thinking than it is any defect on Baldwin's part. One of the marks of a good biographer, to me, is that when I reach the end of the book I have to ask myself if the author liked the subject or not. I think that is a good thing because it tells me that the author approached the subject with a level of detachment that I think is crucial for providing a balanced portrait of someone. If there was an agenda, then it was to tell an accurate and entertaining story of an extraordinary individual. And that is what we have here. Baldwin obviously respects Edison's ingenuity and relentlessness in the face of so much toil and frequent failures, while also noting his poor performance as a father and husband, and often cantankerous persona.
Edison suffered partial hearing loss as a child, most likely to some inner ear defect. He could hear, but the noise or the person speaking needed to be loud, and even then Edison surely missed things. In an odd way, I think the hearing defect helped Edison: he could not be as nearly easily distracted by other people and things. Conversations could go on around him while he sat and thought about inventions and improvements to things in his mind. It sort of insulated him from having to put up with mundane conversation, for which he had little patience. He was brusque and blunt with people, but also paid his employees well (although he demanded unconditional loyalty and had fallings out with many people over the years). He also became close friends with Henry Ford and even vacationed with he, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs for several summers.
Baldwin takes Edison all the way to the end, and finishes with a final chapter about Mina and all of the children. I appreciated him taking the time to explain what happened to everyone (Baldwin even met Thomas Jr. shortly before his death). Some of the children had sad endings, while others thrived. What was missing though was a corresponding chapter about the imprint that Edison left on the world. Aside from Baldwin noting the commentary when Edison died, he does not delve into this subject. Overall, this is a good biography about a brilliant man who transformed the world in which he lived.
Grade: B+
May 7, 2018
My main takeaway from this book, even if not intended by the author, was that Edison took credit for everyone else's ideas and inventions, including those of Tesla, but had a strong PT Barnum streak for self-promotion, with the lack of ethics to go with it.
Mark Twain was right....
“It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone or any other important thing—and the last man gets the credit and we forget the others. These object lessons should teach us that ninety-nine parts of all things that proceed from the intellect are plagiarisms, pure and simple; and the lesson ought to make us modest. But nothing can do that.”
Mark Twain was right....
“It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone or any other important thing—and the last man gets the credit and we forget the others. These object lessons should teach us that ninety-nine parts of all things that proceed from the intellect are plagiarisms, pure and simple; and the lesson ought to make us modest. But nothing can do that.”
June 3, 2016
Started this one months ago. Kept picking up and eating away at it in small bites. But today sat for half an hour working on it and just decided it was becoming a struggle. It began well but I think the reason I can't get into it is that the author goes into numbing details about each step of the struggle that Edison faced and orvercame ensuring not only his light bulb worked sufficently but also the struggle to be first not only here but in Europe with the idea and infrastructure. Frankly it just became a list of things he accomplished with no real heart in the story. Well, that's how I felt anyway. And life is too short to read books you don't want to ----- so I'm done.
April 5, 2017
This book covers Edison as a person, as well as his accomplishments. There is also a lot of information about Henry Ford, as well as the rest of the Edison family. Several bios that I have read lately delve too much into accomplishment and circumstances without really giving insight into the person. This book avoids that pitfall.
June 17, 2013
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February 4, 2018
Quite enjoyable overall though another example of someone that everyone admired who could have invested more time in his own family.
January 2, 2021
What a strange guy – and not the most gifted written book, even for Ohio history. Edison was a hopeless workaholic with strained relationship with his kids and a distant relationship with his wives, especially his first wife who died before she found a place for herself with her husband.
Edison was born in Ohio and lived out his early years in Milan, Norwalk, and Port Huron. He was an unusual boy – always looking for ways to make money including publishing and selling a newspaper on a train. The book has some interesting background on the development of these NW Ohio cities with canals and railways. That alone made it worth reading the book. Port Clinton was four villages with a fort that was built at the connection of Black and St. Clair rivers during the War of 1812. Like other cities, they built a canal – the Milan Canal – that took too long to build (in this case 15 years) and opened as the railroads were crossing our country, making the canal system outdated – even before they were paid off. For a short period, the canal allowed farmers to sell their products at higher prices for export, with more than 15 ships clearing the port a day. But railroads were moving quick – from 1850 and 1860, Ohio’s 299 miles of track increased tenfold. Unfortunately, Milan Canal fought against the railroad arriving in town and the tracks went four miles south, allowing Norwalk to take off – at Milan’s expense. It’s true to this day.
During this entire time, Tom’s family didn’t do well – and he changed his name from Sam to Tom. He had a rocky start, going from job to job and city to city working for Western Union and learning more about inventions that started his career – and reputation – to build.
What was especially interesting in the book is how Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell had a love/hate relationship, the unique relationship with Henry Ford (a much younger man who worked to build a friendship with Edison), interactions with William Randolph Hearst, Harvey Firestone, and others. It mentions about Edison’s visits to Chautauqua, New York. The book mentioned that Ford’s first company went out of business a year later! What an exciting time.
The book also mentioned that Edison had a labor strike and he moved the plant to break the plant; he paid well but moved many people to independent contractors. The book also spoke about how the relationship with his daughter started to improve until he got remarried (to a much younger woman upon the death of his first wife) and his son who called him “sir” in letters that Edison corrected and sent back.
His mind wandered – lighting then record player, then mining, and closing off his life trying to figure out plants. He had some success along the way. It was interesting how his second wife didn’t care for Ford and was upset when GE became the sponsor of Edison’s workshop that was moved to Ford’s village after GE treated her husband so poorly.
Edison was born in Ohio and lived out his early years in Milan, Norwalk, and Port Huron. He was an unusual boy – always looking for ways to make money including publishing and selling a newspaper on a train. The book has some interesting background on the development of these NW Ohio cities with canals and railways. That alone made it worth reading the book. Port Clinton was four villages with a fort that was built at the connection of Black and St. Clair rivers during the War of 1812. Like other cities, they built a canal – the Milan Canal – that took too long to build (in this case 15 years) and opened as the railroads were crossing our country, making the canal system outdated – even before they were paid off. For a short period, the canal allowed farmers to sell their products at higher prices for export, with more than 15 ships clearing the port a day. But railroads were moving quick – from 1850 and 1860, Ohio’s 299 miles of track increased tenfold. Unfortunately, Milan Canal fought against the railroad arriving in town and the tracks went four miles south, allowing Norwalk to take off – at Milan’s expense. It’s true to this day.
During this entire time, Tom’s family didn’t do well – and he changed his name from Sam to Tom. He had a rocky start, going from job to job and city to city working for Western Union and learning more about inventions that started his career – and reputation – to build.
What was especially interesting in the book is how Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell had a love/hate relationship, the unique relationship with Henry Ford (a much younger man who worked to build a friendship with Edison), interactions with William Randolph Hearst, Harvey Firestone, and others. It mentions about Edison’s visits to Chautauqua, New York. The book mentioned that Ford’s first company went out of business a year later! What an exciting time.
The book also mentioned that Edison had a labor strike and he moved the plant to break the plant; he paid well but moved many people to independent contractors. The book also spoke about how the relationship with his daughter started to improve until he got remarried (to a much younger woman upon the death of his first wife) and his son who called him “sir” in letters that Edison corrected and sent back.
His mind wandered – lighting then record player, then mining, and closing off his life trying to figure out plants. He had some success along the way. It was interesting how his second wife didn’t care for Ford and was upset when GE became the sponsor of Edison’s workshop that was moved to Ford’s village after GE treated her husband so poorly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2024
Thomas Alva Edison, the greatest inventor of the 19th century, was intellectually active from an early age. He published periodicals, he started many businesses, and had two families. He was hard of hearing most of his life, which may have contributed to his inspiration. He was a detail man who would keep plugging away at problems until they were solved, ran out of money, or lost interest. He did these days and nights his whole life. As a result, he was not a very good family man. He not only made major inventions such as the phonograph and moving pictures, but he also made many more minor inventions that improved what he or others had done. As a result, he also spent a lot of time getting and defending patents.
This is an amazing story well-told by this book. It covers a lot of details of not only Edison, but others he interacted with over the years. This can at times make the narrative plod along and one wonders how relevant some of the tangents are to the Edison story. Nevertheless, it is very informative. This book may not be for everyone due to the minutia that is covered. It is certainly not a summary of Edison’s life. Due to all the work he did and sacrifices he made and his poor family life, it is hard to feel a lot of sympathy for Edison when he finally dies. It is a wonder how he supported his families over decades. It is obvious his major inventions supported his failures and running companies and dealing with litigious rival patent holders.
This is an amazing story well-told by this book. It covers a lot of details of not only Edison, but others he interacted with over the years. This can at times make the narrative plod along and one wonders how relevant some of the tangents are to the Edison story. Nevertheless, it is very informative. This book may not be for everyone due to the minutia that is covered. It is certainly not a summary of Edison’s life. Due to all the work he did and sacrifices he made and his poor family life, it is hard to feel a lot of sympathy for Edison when he finally dies. It is a wonder how he supported his families over decades. It is obvious his major inventions supported his failures and running companies and dealing with litigious rival patent holders.
October 12, 2024
As an engineer I’ve always had a keen interest in Edison but I didn’t particularly enjoy this book. Perhaps it was the length of the book, the small font, or the extend of the detail which to me detracted from the pleasure of reading the book. I never finished the book.
November 6, 2017
Took me awhile to really get into the book.
August 16, 2019
Tedious and misses many points of his life. I would look esewhere. With all of the biographies of Thomas Edison, you surely can find a better version.
May 26, 2016
I really enjoyed this book.
In my opinion, this is a classic, historical biography written as a biography should be written. There are no moral judgments, no excuses, no attempt to juxtapose the subject with our current value or moral (or lack of quite frankly) system. We get to learn about Edison in his time and how he used his time on the planet with all his foibles, warts and stubbornness. It is always interesting to see how almost typical it is that famous people who are responsible for many turning points in history have such turmoil in their personal lives. Edison certainly has his share.
The author brings enough of world and national events into the book to give us reference as to what is going on in Edison's life and mind, but not so much to take away from the story of the man.
At 418 pages plus another 100 pages of detailed notes, this is no weekend read, but it is well worth the time to learn about this unique, driven man who built the basis for the technological world we live in. Critics say that he did not so much invent as improve and market existing ideas or inventions, but without his influence and persistence, many of those inventions would have died away or taken years to develop. Competition creates value and no one proves that more than Thomas Edison. In his prime, he forced his competition to do better and we all benefited in the long run.
At the end, he seems almost as a run down automaton, tragic in a way. Like a man out of step. Used to doing things his way and hands on, he could not keep up with the times that he had so much modernized with his products.
Recommended.
In my opinion, this is a classic, historical biography written as a biography should be written. There are no moral judgments, no excuses, no attempt to juxtapose the subject with our current value or moral (or lack of quite frankly) system. We get to learn about Edison in his time and how he used his time on the planet with all his foibles, warts and stubbornness. It is always interesting to see how almost typical it is that famous people who are responsible for many turning points in history have such turmoil in their personal lives. Edison certainly has his share.
The author brings enough of world and national events into the book to give us reference as to what is going on in Edison's life and mind, but not so much to take away from the story of the man.
At 418 pages plus another 100 pages of detailed notes, this is no weekend read, but it is well worth the time to learn about this unique, driven man who built the basis for the technological world we live in. Critics say that he did not so much invent as improve and market existing ideas or inventions, but without his influence and persistence, many of those inventions would have died away or taken years to develop. Competition creates value and no one proves that more than Thomas Edison. In his prime, he forced his competition to do better and we all benefited in the long run.
At the end, he seems almost as a run down automaton, tragic in a way. Like a man out of step. Used to doing things his way and hands on, he could not keep up with the times that he had so much modernized with his products.
Recommended.
February 22, 2020
Really insightful, interesting book. Edison is one of those giants who we just sort of take for granted. The book helped me appreciate just how enormous an influence he had on on society. He was the link between the pre-modern and industrial world. The book does a great job of walking us through his life, especially from the perspective of his children’s views.
As a person, Edison is typical of someone so focused and obsessed with one thing. As a person and personality, he’s not all that interesting. Luckily for the author, his accomplishments and influence more than make this book worth a look.
As a person, Edison is typical of someone so focused and obsessed with one thing. As a person and personality, he’s not all that interesting. Luckily for the author, his accomplishments and influence more than make this book worth a look.
December 31, 2012
I greatly enjoyed reading about the life and inventive genius of Thomas Edison. His insatiable appetite to ask unasked questions, to pursue his scientific curiosities, and to create new inventions is inspiring. God has created the material world to be discovered and mastered, and this has driven a great many men and women. Neil Baldwin's writing style was very pedestrian and uninspiring, but I still enjoyed learning.
January 18, 2010
a well written, helpful account of the life and times of T.E. He's critical without rubbing your nose in it. I especially like his recollection of Edison's childhood, in Ohio and Michigan, trying to get a grip on his wild mind, without going to school.
July 8, 2012
This could be a textbook for a course titled "Edison's Impact on Industry." Because it has such a strong textbook style, it lacks passion, and functions primarily as a reference book. Thick with details, it is probably among the best of Edison biographies.
February 24, 2008
I think this is the one I read. There are a million books on Edison, and it's been years since I read it.
March 7, 2009
Excellent book about a very creative inventor and salesperson.
April 28, 2017
So far, i am totally gripped with the narration! Easy language, nice childhood anecdotes and his struggle accounts for a enjoying read!
June 14, 2012
There were a lot of tedious tangents, and the author really never gave life to Edison. I had a better idea of the research behind the book than I did the man behind the curtain.
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