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Mind Afire: The Visions of Tesla
A 64 pg graphic novel for teens & adults on the wondrous life of Nikola Tesla: Inventor, visionary, & unsung scientific genius.
Tesla deserves to be a household name. His scientific discoveries at the dawn of our technological age—when the invisible forces of electricity, radio waves, and magnetic fields were being harnessed into new inventions—were revolutionary, and much of today's technology rests upon his ideas.
Tesla deserves to be a household name. His scientific discoveries at the dawn of our technological age—when the invisible forces of electricity, radio waves, and magnetic fields were being harnessed into new inventions—were revolutionary, and much of today's technology rests upon his ideas.
84 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 23, 2014
I made a new bookshelf for this, illustrated-novel. I know that the genre of graphic novel is still in flux, but this doesn't feel like one to me. There are far too many pages where text is 95+ percent, and the illustrations are only loosely integrated into the storytelling. There are spreads, of course, where everything is beautifully synergized, but they're far too few.
The narration was also really dry in certain sections, and the lack of chapters made it impossible to skim in the way that one would a reference text. The authors call it fiction because they took liberties "for dramatic purposes," but if they were going that route, they didn't go nearly far enough. If they'd admitted this was a non-fiction text and went for less text and more subheadings, illustrations, etc. I would be more confident that this would be in demand in my classroom.
The book is, however, beautiful--even if the handwritten text is sometimes difficult to read. The construction is impeccable and the whole book just feels good to hold.
The narration was also really dry in certain sections, and the lack of chapters made it impossible to skim in the way that one would a reference text. The authors call it fiction because they took liberties "for dramatic purposes," but if they were going that route, they didn't go nearly far enough. If they'd admitted this was a non-fiction text and went for less text and more subheadings, illustrations, etc. I would be more confident that this would be in demand in my classroom.
The book is, however, beautiful--even if the handwritten text is sometimes difficult to read. The construction is impeccable and the whole book just feels good to hold.
February 18, 2014
I supported the Kickstarter for this book, and what a great book it is. I'm glad to have a physical book in this case, because the layout is more of an illustrations-accompany-text than a traditional comic book format, so I think a .pdf layout would have been a problem. The drawings are lovely, the writing is mostly well done and straightforward. The few detours toward flowery language were appropriate, I think, given the interestingly complex character that Tesla was.
I learned a lot about Tesla, and enjoyed the illustrations--the one thing that was lacking was a more detailed, more involved description of the technical details regarding AC and DC, I thought. Just a preference--I would have dug a few intricate, close up diagrams of the actual AC engines--even though the kind of sparse schematic drawings were also cool and interesting.
I learned a lot about Tesla, and enjoyed the illustrations--the one thing that was lacking was a more detailed, more involved description of the technical details regarding AC and DC, I thought. Just a preference--I would have dug a few intricate, close up diagrams of the actual AC engines--even though the kind of sparse schematic drawings were also cool and interesting.
February 3, 2014
Great biography graphic novel about Nikola Tesla! While I already knew about a lot of the anecdotes from various sources (kid's biography, Assassin's Creed, research for Boxed Set LARP, etc), this biography tied the events together and made them much more personal. The sketches have lots of detail, yet also feel old-timey, so they are very appropriate.
I didn't really like the cursive font used throughout much of the book - I thought it made everything more difficult to read, but it did provide personal, old-fashioned ambience, so maybe it's worth it.
I didn't really like the cursive font used throughout much of the book - I thought it made everything more difficult to read, but it did provide personal, old-fashioned ambience, so maybe it's worth it.
January 31, 2014
I backed this on Kickstarter and received it just yesterday. I read it during some downtime and really loved it. I really liked Tesla's life story. I feel like the entire universe was conspiring against him though; nothing seemed to go his way.
Also regarding the artwork, it was spectacular. I really enjoyed the pictures.
I definitely recommend it.
Also regarding the artwork, it was spectacular. I really enjoyed the pictures.
I definitely recommend it.
February 12, 2014
This is a beautiful format and get way in. Very well done. This served me as a great intro to understanding Tesla and getting some perspective on his life while fitting into events surrounding him. Now ready for an in depth book.
December 23, 2014
Beautiful artwork, interesting story. It covers a lot of the same ground as a Tesla documentary I saw on Netflix, but this book's presentation makes revisiting the material worth it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews