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Thomas Edison: Shining A Light
'Thomas Edison' is a detailed and insightful account of the life and times of one of the greatest minds in American history, and suggests the unique ways in which Edison managed to accomplish one of the most coveted attainments in our human originality.
What was it about Edison’s life and character that shaped him into one of the world’s most prolific inventors, and father of the phonograph, motion picture camera and electric lightbulb, to name a few of his greatest achievements? In this biography, David Boyle gives a revealing portrait of Edison’s life and temperament, and the events of the time that fostered his remarkable feats.
Edison was, from childhood, a business mind and opportunist, having conducted a newspaper-selling business on the local railway as a boy. He applied this entrepreneurial instinct later in life, to the competitive business of patenting inventions and staying ahead of his fellow inventors. This enterprising predisposition was just one of the components to Edison’s remarkable genius.
The inspiration that literally lit up the world was born, in part, out of Edison’s methodical approach to problem-solving, and relentless questioning. He realized it was not sufficient to observe that a method hadn’t worked; the valuable question was why? By quantifying his successes and failures, and constantly revisiting failures until they were resolved, Edison stayed ahead of the innovation game.
It was his dogged determination to discover solutions that affected Edison’s marriage and home life, as his commitment to work was all too often at the expense of the familial kind. Boyle sheds light on why Edison was often seen as a difficult man, by his dejected first wife Mary Stilwell, his colleagues and competitors.
Lesser known about Edison are his revolutionary ideas on the economy, and his condemnation of debt-based money and the subsequent interest rates incurred. Boyle reveals Edison’s proposals for economic reform; all the more poignant when reading in our age of national debt and failed money lending.
David Boyle is a British author and journalist who writes mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business and culture. He lives in Crystal Palace, London. His books include 'Unheard Warfare in the Dardanelles', 'Towards the Setting The Race for America' and 'The Age to Come'.
What was it about Edison’s life and character that shaped him into one of the world’s most prolific inventors, and father of the phonograph, motion picture camera and electric lightbulb, to name a few of his greatest achievements? In this biography, David Boyle gives a revealing portrait of Edison’s life and temperament, and the events of the time that fostered his remarkable feats.
Edison was, from childhood, a business mind and opportunist, having conducted a newspaper-selling business on the local railway as a boy. He applied this entrepreneurial instinct later in life, to the competitive business of patenting inventions and staying ahead of his fellow inventors. This enterprising predisposition was just one of the components to Edison’s remarkable genius.
The inspiration that literally lit up the world was born, in part, out of Edison’s methodical approach to problem-solving, and relentless questioning. He realized it was not sufficient to observe that a method hadn’t worked; the valuable question was why? By quantifying his successes and failures, and constantly revisiting failures until they were resolved, Edison stayed ahead of the innovation game.
It was his dogged determination to discover solutions that affected Edison’s marriage and home life, as his commitment to work was all too often at the expense of the familial kind. Boyle sheds light on why Edison was often seen as a difficult man, by his dejected first wife Mary Stilwell, his colleagues and competitors.
Lesser known about Edison are his revolutionary ideas on the economy, and his condemnation of debt-based money and the subsequent interest rates incurred. Boyle reveals Edison’s proposals for economic reform; all the more poignant when reading in our age of national debt and failed money lending.
David Boyle is a British author and journalist who writes mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business and culture. He lives in Crystal Palace, London. His books include 'Unheard Warfare in the Dardanelles', 'Towards the Setting The Race for America' and 'The Age to Come'.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 27, 2018
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22 people want to read
About the author
David Boyle
232 books54 followersDavid Courtney Boyle was a British author and journalist who wrote mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business, and culture. He lived in Steyning in West Sussex.
He conducted an independent review for the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on public demand for choice in public services which reported in 2013. Boyle was a co-founder and policy director of Radix, which he characterized in 2017 as a radical centrist think tank. He was also co-director of the mutual think tank New Weather Institute.
He conducted an independent review for the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on public demand for choice in public services which reported in 2013. Boyle was a co-founder and policy director of Radix, which he characterized in 2017 as a radical centrist think tank. He was also co-director of the mutual think tank New Weather Institute.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 22, 2019
A compact but useful biography of Edison - an entrepreneur and visionary more than a scientist
November 22, 2023
I really liked this book. The author has also written a non-fiction book about "The Boy Who Invented Television" and yes, he did invent TV (a 14 year old boy named Philo T. Farnsworth figured out the early concept for TV). I also left a review about that book, too. This current book will cover the boy Thomas Edison through his death in 1931. He held a world-record 1,093 patents. Edison created the world’s first industrial research laboratory, beginning when he was just a boy selling newspapers on the trains. Everywhere he lived or worked, he always set up a room for his "experiments". These rooms for experiments years later introduced this idea to other inventors. The boy/man was ALWAYS thinking about new ways to do things or to correct a problem.
"Edison was the quintessential American inventor in the era of Yankee ingenuity. He began his career in 1863, in the adolescence of the telegraph industry, when virtually the only source of electricity was primitive batteries putting out a low-voltage current. Before he died, in 1931, he had played a critical role in introducing the modern age of electricity. From his laboratories and workshops emanated the phonograph, the carbon-button transmitter for the telephone speaker and microphone, the incandescent lamp, a revolutionary generator of unprecedented efficiency, the first commercial electric light and power system, an experimental electric railroad, and key elements of motion-picture apparatus, as well as a host of other inventions." [www.britannica.com/biography]
Edison also played a part in developing and improving the phonograph. The man was truly an inventing genius, in spite of having hearing problems from an early age in his life. I highly recommend this book.
"Edison was the quintessential American inventor in the era of Yankee ingenuity. He began his career in 1863, in the adolescence of the telegraph industry, when virtually the only source of electricity was primitive batteries putting out a low-voltage current. Before he died, in 1931, he had played a critical role in introducing the modern age of electricity. From his laboratories and workshops emanated the phonograph, the carbon-button transmitter for the telephone speaker and microphone, the incandescent lamp, a revolutionary generator of unprecedented efficiency, the first commercial electric light and power system, an experimental electric railroad, and key elements of motion-picture apparatus, as well as a host of other inventions." [www.britannica.com/biography]
Edison also played a part in developing and improving the phonograph. The man was truly an inventing genius, in spite of having hearing problems from an early age in his life. I highly recommend this book.
September 30, 2019
Somewhat interesting. The author obviously is an Edison fan so the light was lit for him and his achievements. But such a bright light ordinarily shows the flaws which he had but little was offered to the reader. More Hollywood than history. Disappointing.
December 21, 2022
Interesting
Certainly a unique man, Edison was “bright”. The thing that interested me is his drive to “solve the problem”. Add to that the fact “the times, they were a changing”.
Certainly a unique man, Edison was “bright”. The thing that interested me is his drive to “solve the problem”. Add to that the fact “the times, they were a changing”.
November 5, 2019
Boring
Not a good book at all. Missed many historical facts and is just superficial account of Edison's life. I learned more at the Henry Ford Museum....
Not a good book at all. Missed many historical facts and is just superficial account of Edison's life. I learned more at the Henry Ford Museum....
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews