Tesla. El inventor de la era eléctrica

by W. Bernard Carlson

Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the twentieth century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius. Even at the end of his life when he was living in poverty, Tesla still attracted reporters to his annual birthday interview, regaling them with claims that he had invented a particle-beam weapon capable of bringing down enemy aircraft.

Plenty of biographies glamorize Tesla and his eccentricities, but until now none has carefully examined what, how, and why he invented. In this groundbreaking book, W. Bernard Carlson demystifies the legendary inventor, placing him within the cultural and technological context of his time, and focusing on his inventions themselves as well as the creation and maintenance of his celebrity. Drawing on original documents from Tesla's private and public life, Carlson shows how he was an "idealist" inventor who sought the perfect experimental realization of a great idea or principle, and who skillfully sold his inventions to the public through mythmaking and illusion.

This major biography sheds new light on Tesla's visionary approach to invention and the business strategies behind his most important technological breakthroughs.

Genres: Biography, Science, Nonfiction, History, Technology, Biography Memoir, Engineering

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

W. Bernard Carlson is professor of science, technology, and society in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and professor of history at the University of Virginia. His books include Technology in World History and Innovation as a Social Process: Elihu Thomson and the Rise of General Electric, 1870-1900.

Reviews

[Ionia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many self-described "Tesla Biographers" have taken a shot at writing a book that would be considered comprehensive and worthy of filling in the gaps of this infamous man's life, but none have done so as well as W. Bernard Carlson.

If you are expecting a light, fluff-filled read about this important inventor, please look elsewhere. This book is intelligent, articulate and technical. If your desire is to make sense of the how and why Tesla ended up where he did by the end of his life, this book will not only elaborate on common knowledge of the subject, but will open your eyes to the unfortunate truth of this genius and his fall from grace, society and his descent into poverty.

What I found fascinating about this book, was that rather than giving in to the previous biographer's desire to make Tesla look like a superhuman celebrity with an external muse that produced his creativity, this book shows the rise to fame through his eyes. His inventions are detailed and his numerous ideas and contributions to science and the field of electrical engineering is presented brilliantly. Rather than going from chapter to chapter saying "and then he did this and then he did that" this work has a very natural progression. Frequently using Tesla's own words to describe his creative process, Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age gives a much more in depth view of his life.

I had always thought of Tesla as having been someone who looked within himself to answer the great questions of life, and this book seems to agree with that notion. As someone who is also rather introspective, I appreciated the idea that Tesla turned to his own mind for answers and created his own circumstances for his early success.

If you are the type of history buff that will get lost in an old black and white photo for minutes at a time, marveling at how things have changed, this author has you covered. There are plenty of photos and diagrams in this book of Tesla, his inventions and his previous places of employment. I was intensely drawn to the photo of Edison's Machine Works and the photo of the inside of the machine shop at Wardenclyffe.

Rather than viewing Nikola Tesla in a celebratory way, this book takes a neutral and impartial stand of the inventor, neither praising nor degrading him for his work nor his decisions. The author has researched and presented material that tells the story of a man from humble beginnings who did many great things, and made some choices that were most regrettable in terms of his own preservation.

After reading this, my opinion is pretty simple. I believe Tesla would be proud of this biography. Perhaps just as proud of this as he would be of the unit of measurement named after him.

While Tesla may not be the household name that Edison has turned out to be, for any serious scholar of the age of invention, he will always be an important contributor to many things that we take for granted as every day convenience today.

I feel this is an important book and one that should be shared with the younger generation. Teachers, parents and anyone who is interested in the history of invention and pioneers of their time would benefit from this book. I thank the author for the hard work and dedication they have shown in writing this.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher.

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve reviewed two biographies of the engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla – Tesla: Man out of Time (which is good on Tesla’s odd behaviour but struggles with the science) and Wizard (which is a more rounded book, but is totally lost in the science, telling us that Telsa was close to splitting the electron). This is definitely the best of the three. Certainly it is far better on the aspects of Tesla’s work that are worthwhile – his engineering genius in working on AC motors and polyphase AC, giving comprehensive details of his designs and work.

There is also plenty on his long obsession with transmitting information and electrical energy remotely, culminating in the remarkable Wardenclyffe development with its iconic discharge tower, which ruined him financially and proved his downfall when he was unable to deliver on his promises to be able to span the Atlantic in six months to financier J. P. Morgan. By contrast, though, some of his more wild schemes and his social oddities are only discussed in passing – Carlson hints at the possibility that Tesla was homosexual, which would have been controversial in his day, but hardly mentions his strange eating habits and pigeon-befriending activities. I’m not sure the balance is quite right. This is after, after all a biography, and we get a rather sketchy picture of Tesla, the man. It may be because Carlson struggles with that side of biography – we hear, for instance, the strangely childlike line that his father died because he was heartbroken. But any shortcomings on the personal front are more than made up for by the exquisite detail on the engineering achievements.

There was one other aspect I was uncomfortable with, which was that Carlson seemed to find it difficult to admit when Tesla was wrong. The facts seem to be that Tesla was a brilliant engineer, but only a so-so scientist. It’s not an unusual combination, and Tesla often managed to develop technology by trial and error without understanding the underlying physics. Specifically he had a poor grasp of the nature of electromagnetic radiation, leading to his odd ideas of being able to transmit electrical energy as a form of vibration through the Earth. While Carlson makes it clear Tesla didn’t succeed he avoids saying that Tesla failed to understand the science, using phrases like ‘raises questions about its feasibility’ in a situation that demands ‘it was just never going to work.’ There is also reasonable evidence that many of Teslas promises of being able to develop technology were nothing more than evasions to put off his creditors or pure fantasy – again Tesla gets too much benefit of the doubt.

Overall, though this is an enjoyable biography of Tesla, concentrating in detail on his engineering achievements and business arrangements, even though it could have been firmer on the unscientific nature of some of Tesla’s ideas.

[Atila Iamarino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca tinha lido sobre o Tesla além de reportagens ou alguns posts de blogs. Acabei neste livro por ser a biografia mais recomendada e não me arrependi.

W. Bernard Carlson é bem detalhista no livro, foi atrás de documentos históricos, das cartas do Tesla, patentes e muito mais material. E adota uma postura bastante sóbria de descrever os feitos impressionantes sem se deixar levar pelo mito. Explica, por exemplo, como o Tesla descreve que tudo o que inventava era bolado na sua mente antes, de forma perfeita e final. Enquanto compara com os rascunhos, escritos e aprimoramentos que o Tesla fazia, para mostrar que não era bem o caso. Também deixa muito claro como Tesla era um inventor acima de tudo, com pouco tempo ou interesse para transformar o que pensava em um produto final vendável (ao contrário de Edison).

Gostei bastante. Recomendo para quem quiser entender mais sobre o Tesla e como trabalhava alguém que, mais do que aparelhos ou máquinas, queria materializar uma visão de mundo diferente e mais tecnológico – linha que vejo o Musk seguindo atualmente.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting biography of a very interesting man. It is also one of those books that kept swinging the rating pendulum back and forth from two to four stars, depending on which chapter it happened to stop on. I found the first chapters describing Tesla's success years incredibly dense and scientific. Surely to fully appreciate their merit, the reader must wield academic knowledge of physics and electric engineering. Upon reading yet another description on how pivot arms were pushed by the heat and magnets to generate motion, I thought of pulling my hair and proclaiming myself the biggest idiot, because I could not picture what was happening to save my life. Pages upon pages of scientific jargon obscured any information about the man behind these inventions, and the real reason why I picked this book up in the first place. But as Tesla's reputation began to fumble and the chapters were progressing past his glory years, the real story and the emotions began trickling through.

It seems that Tesla was a great dreamer. So great in fact, that he had no interest in practicality and commercial application of his inventions. He had a vision of how future should be and nothing could sway him from that idea. I thought the book presented him somewhat vain, picturing himself as THE best inventor of his time, whose creations would turn the world upside down. The tragedic reality is that Tesla lived way ahead of his times, and lacked financial supporters that shared his fantastic enthusiasm. Did his dreams go too far, in the realm of illusion? The later chapters seems to suggest so. Carlson presents several instances where the great inventor might have ventured into the land of unabashed sensationalism and (later in life) senility. It is somewhat sad that being carried away by his dreams and lacking focus, Tesla never realized his dreams beyond his work on AC power and a few small projects.

How accurate is this interpretation of Tesla by Carlson? It is hard for me to tell, as I am yet to read any other academic work on the man. But I am hopeful to find a kinder version, if somewhat romanticized, of Tesla as a human being behind a glamour of a mad scientist. After reading the opening chapters I wanted to give this book two stars, but I find that it redeems itself significantly later on. Three and a half stars it is then.

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. This book is incredibly dense, academic, and filled with technical details. It is not so much an biography of Tesla as it is an academic review of his works. I was not surprised that it was published by a university press. Perhaps this started as a doctorate student's thesis?

If I could give half stars, I would bump this up to 1.5, because in all fairness, the author did state clearly in the introduction that this book is not for those looking for a light read. I thought - Great! I'll be able to learn about Tesla as a person, and gain some deeper knowledge of exactly how groundbreaking his inventions were! - but was quickly rebuffed by page after page of patent drawings, detailed ad nauseam, heavy scientific and mechanical terminology, all of which was discussed at university-level, with no easing in for those of us without engineering degrees.

I consider it a point of pride that I love reading so much that I never leave a book unfinished. Sadly, this book joins a very short list of tomes that I just could not get through.

If you are scientifically minded, then perhaps this book is for you - there are plenty of 4- and 5-star reviews, and I'm inclined to believe that for those with a scientific/electrical background, this is an interesting book. But for those looking for a biography of Nikola Tesla, the man himself, I would search elsewhere.

[Arbogast Holmskragga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but too often emphasizes the technical aspects of Tesla's work to the point of causing all but the most diligent to lose focus on where the narrative is heading. Probably a better book for those who already have a strong grasp on the scientific side of electrical engineering and who need this as a starting point to appreciate the human side of Tesla's story. For those who prefer the less technical literary works, this book is probably not for you.

[Samanta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consider finishing this book an achievement (still debating putting that to my achievement list). The author did his best to summarise the life of Nikola Tesla into one book in a way that it made sense. You can see that the author did a very detailed research and that he put a lot of effort into it. I enjoyed the parts about Tesla's life and his character, but as the author is also a scientist, he included detail descriptions of Tesla's (and other important people from Tesla's time and before) inventions, which just went over my head. This was the main complaint of a lot of reviews of the book here on GR. Hence, this would be a perfect book for all the admirers of Tesla who also happen to be well-versed in science. For the rest of us, it's a wonderful insight into Tesla's mind and life.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of how many stars a reviewer uses to bottom line a review is to convey how enthusiastically that reviewer recommends, positively or negatively, that book. In the case of W. Bernard Carlson’s Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age, the four stars comes with some hesitation. Carlson works very hard to let the reader judge Nikola Tesla. My hesitation is that I finished the book with no clear idea who this man was. That he held many patents is proof of his inventive mind, but all the achievements are presented in such a complex context it is hard to say that Tesla did anything. For example, based on nothing but this book, I am not sure that he invented the alternating current that all of us use to light and power our homes. That fact is buried in so much discussion of who else had done what and the relative importance of the various inventors working before or during Tesla’s best years; that I cannot say for sure what I was supposed to conclude. As his fortune, and reputation faded he was producing endless set of promises that read more like desperate swindles than legitimate applications for research funding.

Against this it must be said that very rare, almost unknown is the invention that arrives on nothing more than the work and thinking of one person. Frank Whittle’s invention of the Jet engine comes close but even he was working from a pre-existing turbine engine.

Among the things that make Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age a four-star read:
Left to themselves inventive minds will go where their minds take them. From that point of view a widget that has immediate and vast money-making potential is just as good as an oddity that barely entertains, or solves a minor problem for the inventor. The U.S. Patent office is filled with original inventions that sit for decades gathering dust because while creative there is no way to convert the idea into something anyone would buy.

A major theme of this book is that Tesla, during his best years had a business partner who was skilled at focusing the inventor on what would make money and then promoting it in a market place that was flooding with new electrical inventions. When this man died, Tesla had learned a lot about marketing, but created large numbers of object with little thought about who would buy what. Tesla was a man of grand ideas and he found himself inventing a lot of smaller things that would outlive him, but were not what he was promising to deliver.

Another major theme was a discussion of how Tesla’s mind worked. Tesla always described his ideas coming to him as a visual image. He could test and develop that vision in his head to the point that once built it would be born a finished working product. How often this was true and how much time and money he would have to spend getting the bugs out are things he seemed to gloss over. Meantime he exhausted the willingness of people from Mark Twain to John Jacob Astor to fund his grand notions. The result is that he made a grand public and private promises about huge things he was within days of producing and years would pass with that promise unfulfilled. He made more than a public spectacle of himself and did not understand why this marketing of himself would not sustain him.

Against this, I identify with this kind of thinking. I have neither the education nor the focus to think at near his level, but I also tend to “see’’ problems and solutions before I can work on them. I also tend to think I have seen all of the parts that have to work for a delivery ready solution. There are always one or three things I took for granted that should not have been taken for granted.

A warning to the non technical reader. There will be math, or rather engineering and electrical theory. It is not aimed at trained electrical engineers. It is carefully crafted to be within the grasp of an intelligent reader. But it will take more than ‘beech read’ level focus. Many decades I survived courses in engineering and electrical engineering. For me these discussions were not impenetrable, but they were challenging. I did not try to fully grasp them in detail, but settled for a best guess of major points and moved on.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a bit technical in places, this is a well-written and interesting biography of a brilliant, albeit very odd man. The technical details would perhaps be more interesting to someone better versed in how electricity works, but they do function to display the author's interest in showing how things tick - both Tesla's inventions and Tesla himself. There is a real concern here for drilling down and figuring how how Tesla thought and how he invented. The ultimate portrait is of a man who was brilliant and inventive, yes, but not terribly practical, with a tragic concern for the ideal and the image over the practical that led to his ruin.

Oh, and no, the author does not conclude that Tesla was from Venus...

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is for the TRUE science geek. It is interesting to learn about society's fascination with science at the end of the 19th century. Electricity was an exciting thing! Quite a few scientists were competing to find the ways to harness and use electricity for power and for communication. And there is no doubt that Tesla was a genius. But for most of us, the endless pages of intricate descriptions of exactly how all of this works meant lots of scanning and that detracted from the biography of the man. And, unfortunately, despite Tesla's genius he left much undone because of some quirks in his personality. This is why the name Edison has always overshadowed Tesla.

[John Blumenthal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, call me an idiot but I just fail to comprehend how a motor works. This lack of mental agility made it almost impossible for me to figure out what the hell Tesla was doing for the first 50 pages, which, sadly, are consumed with his groundbreaking work on AC/DC motors. Maybe the book continued the motor theme—I have no idea because I gave up.
#thestrangecourtshipofabigailbird

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read everything I can get my hands on about Tesla. I first learned of him during my course work at University. The basic unit of magnetic field is named after him. He developed alternating current, radio transmission and FM radio, wireless transmission of electrical power; he was ahead of Roentgen in the invention of photographic process of producing x-ray. He is known for the Tesla coil, induction motor, rotary transformers, high frequency alternators, the Tesla oscillator and many more. This is the newest biographical book on Tesla. The book covers both the biographical life of Tesla but goes into greater detail about the technical aspects of his invention and theoretical work. In fact it could be titled the history of electricity in the 19th and early 20th century. The author takes the reader into the scientific mindset of the 19th century and compares it today. The book is objective and even handed about Tesla’s accomplishments and life. I find this objectivity critical to any book about Tesla as in recent decades he has been mythologized in the public imagination. The author goes into great detail about the various ways inventions are created by inventors and why some need marketing to create a demand and others do not. Professor Carlson also explained that Tesla like many inventors needed a business person to keep him focus on feasible inventions and provided the financial backing and marketing. Unfortunately for Tesla the key business man in his life died when Tesla was at his peak and Tesla was never able to replace him. But the patent attorney stayed with him for years. I enjoyed reading this book; it gave me an excellent understanding of Tesla’s inventions and theories. A caution to those readers that are less technically inclined this book is heavy into technical detail but written in an understanding way. I particularly enjoyed the last two chapters of the book, I thought Carlson did an excellent job of summarizing all the data he presented and his notes by various books about Tesla are helpful. Tesla’s work has pioneered the way for many inventions in the past few decades that we take for granted. He was a man ahead of his time. I read this as an audio book. Allan Robertson did an excellent job in narrating the book.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I am looking for in a biography.
Not a puff peace or one that attack without a sense of balance.
This book reaches in the past and use documented fact and rational thinkong with ,amy technical diagrams. The writer worked with Tesla own notes and delving in to many archives of those who know him also using the FBI files and all sources are documented.
This is ten year work of art that is great read for those who really want to know Tesla beyond all the pop reference to know a man who was great but did not always make the right decisions but still changed the world .

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope I have time to return to this book some day, but for now I've stopped. Carlson is a terrific and knowledgeable writer, but I found this biography too technical for me at points. I greatly appreciate that Carlson reminds readers of Tesla's historical context, in both how he was influenced by predominant schools of thought and intentionally rebuffed them at various points as well as his influence in several aspects of modern life.

[Robert Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really good book. I don't understand the science, and if I did there'd be another star in my rating. My failing and the book suffers. This would be a great book if you're a engineer or an inventor or an electrician, or my brother in law. The latter gave me the book after he'd finished it

[Esteban Martos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy interesante su vida, la investigación es muy buena, muy descriptiva yo recomendaría saber lo básico de electricidad y se puede disfrutar mucho más; es un gusto que cada día se reconoce más a este gran genio

[Kevin Kizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Believe it or not, this is the abbreviated version. You can read the long-winded version in the Literarea section of The Peorian

When it comes to the great inventors of the electrical age, for some reason, Nikola Tesla generally is overlooked at least in American textbooks. Sure, we read all about Edison, Bell and even Marconi. But for some reason, the man who created modern AC technology and made great strides in broadcast communications receives barely a passing glance.

As W. Bernard Carlson writes, Tesla’s life “had a spectacular ascent (1884-94)” which was followed by “an equally dramatic descent (1895-1905).” During those ascending years, Tesla developed what is known as the Tesla coil, a high frequency, high-voltage transformer; several radio-controlled devices (including remote-control boats!); and new electric lamps, along with a myriad of other inventions.

In 1888, he had a patent for a workable AC motor and the world of electricity was on the verge of a technological revolution. While it brought fame for Tesla, it also brought on lawsuits and patent cases, which would plague him throughout the rest of his life.

Tesla also had the flair of a showman, making spectacular demonstration of his electrical inventions. One of his favorite displays involved illuminating various glass tubes and spheres with different gases to create a kind of primitive neon effect. Some of his machines would send giant electric bolts across 15-20 feet of space.

At times, his visitors would be physically overwhelmed by the spectacle. Others – like Mark Twain – were thoroughly fascinated (the two became very good friends). At one point, to demonstrate the safety of AC power, Tesla took a 250,000-volt shock through his body.
Unlike Edison and Bell, Tesla regularly boasted of his inventions before they were a reality – perhaps because he could picture them working in his head. In 1899, he boldly stated he would transmit messages across the Atlantic. But Marconi beat him to it in 1901. So Marconi is the one we read about in the history books.

And it was around this time that the man who in 1894 had been proclaimed by Electrical Engineer as to have “achieved such a universal scientific reputation” began his downfall. By 1903, the press was writing that the name Tesla “provokes at best a regret that so great a promise should have been unfulfilled.”
While Tesla lived another 40 years, he could not repeat the advances and breakthroughs he made in the 1890s – nor could he find the businessmen to back him financially. He spent a great many of those last 40 years nearly penniless, while still attempting to make new technological innovations and realize his dream of wireless communications.

Despite his failures, he always drew the interest of the press, who loved to print his fantastical boasts about his future inventions: a new motor that would work on cosmic rays, a pocket-sized mechanical oscillator that could destroy the Empire State building, a particle-beam weapon that could bring down an aircraft, and even machines that allowed him to receive transmissions from Mars and extraterrestrial life.

In the end, Nikola Tesla was the poster child for the eccentric genius. He was the man who ushered in the era of modern electricity and inspired future inventors, while at the same time he was the man who sent a telegraph messenger to deliver $100 to his friend Mark Twain – nearly 30 years after Twain’s death.

Almost every biographer focuses on the eccentric side of Tesla because, well, there’s a lot of material there, e.g. he was kicked out of one New York hotel for having too many pigeons in his room. In fact, one corner of Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library – the place where he would feed the pigeons almost daily – is officially designated “Nikola Tesla Corner.”

But in this book Carlson balances the eccentricities with the genius, showing the cultural and technological impact of Tesla’s work, as well as delving into the individual machines he built – the successes as well as the failures. Hopefully, at the very least, this new biography will underscore Nikola Tesla’s rightfully earned place among the forefathers of modern technology.

[AI · Rating 4 out of 5]

W. Bernard Carlson's Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age is a fair, balanced, and sober biography of Nikola Tesla, a man of extensive and rather varied reputation. It is a study of his approach to invention, but it also looks in some detail at other research and patents in the fields in which Tesla worked. I can't say it's a particularly *gripping* read, but I've come to think that, with a character as sensational and romanticized as Tesla, a certain dryness (in, for instance, descriptions of engines and notes about how Tesla's ideas were different from those of others) is more than forgivable.

Tesla is fashionable right now and is often considered to have been "a man before his time". What Carlson's book does well, I think, is establish a context for what "his time" was, and how receptive it was to new kinds of ideas. It investigates how Tesla developed, tested, and promoted his inventions (sometimes, in a way compatible with business interests of his patrons, sometimes not; early in his career, promoting them to electrical engineers and other specialists, later increasingly to popular press, etc), looks at his role in the establishment of the Niagara power station (in particular, his influence in getting it running with alternating current), and talks about a few of his patents. He's shown very much as a human being: brilliant, eccentric, flawed -- but this is a biography told through ideas more than through simple life facts.

By the way, even while reading this serious and thoughtful book, one doesn't forget that this is Tesla, The Wizard, the ultimate mad scientist we are talking about. Here, for instance, is an episode from when one of his patrons declined to further support him in building a laboratory and a tower at Wardenclyffe to transmit wireless power through the Earth (most of what was needed has already been built): "Angry, Tesla expressed his frustration by cranking up the power at Wardenclyffe and hurling lightning bolts. As the New York Sun reported, Tesla's neighbors witnessed 'all sorts of lightning ... from the tall tower. ... For a time the air was filled with blinding streaks of electricity which seemed to shoot off into the darkness on some mysterious errand. The display continued until after midnight.'" Elsewhere, death rays are mentioned as well. This is indeed the Tesla we have heard about.

[Krishan Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age is a fascinating read, and the author has chosen to explain the man through his work, rather than through his personal traits. Rather than writing to prove that he was an extraordinary man, the author has explained the different projects Tesla conceived in his lifetime.

The author has not shied away from taking deep plunges into the technical concepts, which are required to appreciate Tesla's work. As such, the book gets overwhelming at some points. I had to refer to YouTube and Wikipedia many times to understand the basic laws of electromagnetism, which I studied many years back in school. If you think, you can just skim the technical bit, it won't work.

If you believe that all stories have happy endings, you would be disappointed.Tesla experienced failure multiple times in his life, but what kept him going was his unwavering faith in his vision. He believed that there was a better way to design an electric motor. He believed that wireless transfer of electricity was possible. He believed that it was possible to send messages to everyone in the world. He secured almost 300 patents, and many modern inventions use the concepts developed by him.

Tesla was a visionary who was many years ahead of the times he lived in.

If you want to understand the real impact of Tesla's work, and not afraid to wade through technical concepts, this is an excellent book.

[Fernanda Luppani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hailed to be the definitive biography on Tesla, I must admit to have taken my sweet time reading this book. Mr. Carlson has done a phenomenal service to humanity in researching this remarkable scientist and representing his work through a technical yet accessible biography.

This book is worth a slow read, Mr. Carlson explains Tesla's inventions in a way that is relatively easy to follow and cumulative. You won't want to miss studying these developments and their interrelations throughout the work.

I yearn for more thoughts on Tesla's personal life. Aside from that small yearning, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this otherwise very complete biography. This scholarly work provides a thorough investigation into Tesla's professional life. Perhaps not much of his adult personal life can be extrapolated from material available at the time of the book's conception. I await the light future scholars will shine on Tesla's papers, held at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, and hope more details will emerge.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, I'm probably not the intended audience for this book. I don't have the science background to understand electromagnetic waves without further explanation. At the beginning of the book, I took the time to ask my engineer husband lots of questions and understand what was going on--by the end, I was definitely skimming over to get to the "good" parts about Tesla's success (or lack of success) in commercial endeavors, his breakdown, his relationships, etc.

All this to say that all the really qualified people (aka science reviewers) think this book is awesome, so if that's your jive, go for it. Otherwise, maybe not. Also, editors? Does Princeton University Press not have editors that look for things like grammar or really awkward sentences?

[Martin Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read about a half-dozen books about Tesla's life and this one is the best. It demystifies him, showing that his inventions didn't instantly appear and that even with Westinghouse on his side, his work wasn't immediately accepted. There are two points at which the book seemed a bit clumsy. The speculation that Tesla was gay seems to revolve around a rumor circulating sixty years later. It was unworthy of a well-researched book. Also, the discussion of paradigm-shifting technologies seemed out of place, inasmuch as it strayed away from Tesla's work.

[JR · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was way heavier on the science behind Tesla's inventions and less on his life and character which I personally find more interesting. I did like how the author explained the characteristics that make an inventor successful. Tesla was truly a genius, but also a bit of a lunatic, but even given all his eccentricities, it is a shame that he is, for the most part, forgotten and unknown to most Americans. He is not even mentioned in school curricula, which is sad given all his contributions and aspirations.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read. Well-researched and packed with scientific details - including long passages discussing the intricacies of electrical engineering and design - Carlson still made the material accessible. It's a thorough and comprehensive text that seeks to peel back the mythology of Tesla while still appreciating the magic.

[Paloma Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very good read for people interested in inventions and electricity. Besides it's fantastic to acquire knowledge about History and develop yourself.
By the way, the bibliography seems flashy because of its amount of pages! 97 bibliography pages over 560! LoL

[Matthew Spillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got the impression that the author wanted to show how much he knew and understood different motors and electricity. At points, he would go on for pages with step by step explanations. If this is your thing, you may like it. I was wanting more about Tesla as a person with his inventions thrown in. Instead it felt like a textbook with some of Tesla’s life thrown in.

[Yuliia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я занадто тупа для цієї книги. Але я прочитала її від початку до кінця. Пишаюся собою. Тепер можна діставати друзів своїми «а ви знали» на тусовках.

Не знаю, яку мету ставив перед собою автор, але описаний Тесла мені геть не сподобався. І це не через те, що він був гомосексуалістом.

[Dr_Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written! This eccentric wizard's stories about willpower, immigrant's American dream, inventions and technology, capitalism, mysterious but intense bromance, sci-fi vs. realities, disruptive innovations and battleships with rivals are extremely inspiring!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me ages to finish reading this book. It was dense at times, and that could make it difficult to get into. However, it was so thorough, well cited, and well put together, that I feel terrible giving it anything less than a 5.


This chronicles Tesla's entire life, from birth to death, in about as much detail as is feasible/reasonable. Aside from how thorough it is, what makes it stand out from other Tesla books (not that I've read any other,) is that the author spends a good deal of time detailing the physics behind/technical details of Tesla's inventions. I knew this going into the book and since I know very little about electricity or physics, and since I've always been interested in Tesla, I though this would be a great book for me to learn a little while reading a biography which I would enjoy either way.
It was only somewhat useful for that purpose.
I was never motivated enough to fully take the time to really understand all the technical information that the author provided (though, if I had taken the time and effort, the book is written clearly enough that I'm sure I could have figured all these technical things out, despite my complete and utter lack of knowledge in this realm of science.)

So if you're not remotely interested in the science of electricity/physics, don't read this book. If you know nothing about that realm of science (like me,) parts of the book may be difficult to fully comprehend. If you have some basic knowledge of electricity/motors/etc, you'll be fine.

And, after writing all that, don't get me wrong. This is not just a sciencey, technical text book disguised as a biography. It really goes into Tesla's life, his emotions and personality, and is extremely fascinating. It's all shown through letters, newspaper articles and various patents that Tesla filed. Don't skip the end of the book where the author discusses how this book came to be and how much time, research and effort he put into it. That's a fascinating story of itself!

[Nikola Jankovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first biography of Tesla, despite my knowledge on him is not just basic. Story about great man, but also about unfullfilled potential; about romantic scientist which chose to go ahead of his time and work on revolutionary ideas which would bring a breaktrough in science, as his alternate current did. This meant that he reached his peak much too soon, and despite bringing fascinating ideas later and also some minor practical inventions, he was at his best at age of 37-38.

Book is detailed and is focusing on his work, his life, but also on what motivated him. In some places, it is bit too detailed, especially with technical explanations which I could not follow in English (and as have "read" an audiobook).