They Called Me Mad: Genius, Madness, and the Scientists Who Pushed the Outer Limits of Knowledge

by John Monahan

Discover the true genius behind history's greatest "madmen".

From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll, the image of the mad scientist surrounded by glass vials, copper coils, and electrical apparatus remains a popular fixture. In films and fiction, he's comically misguided, tragically misunderstood, or pathologically evil. But the origins of this stereotype can be found in the sometimes-eccentric real life men and women who challenged our view of the world and broke new scientific frontiers.

They Called Me Mad recounts the amazing true stories of such historical luminaries as Archimedes, the calculator of pi and creator of the world's first death ray; Isaac Newton, the world's first great scientist and the last great alchemist; Nikola Tesla, who built the precursors of robots, fluorescent lighting, and particle beam weapons before the turn of the twentieth century-and more.

Genres: Science, Biography, Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2010

Reviews

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked IcePick Surgeon and are itching for more, then I suggest picking this up, and vice versa.
Because that’s exactly what I did, and even the recounts of the same historical story on Tesla, Einstein etc brought me just as much fascination and further understanding beyond the surface-level account of discovery into the nitty-gritty crazy that can come from obsessive group thought on the what-ifs of life.

Where are all the mad scientists throwing shade and public division, challenging the theories of today? I want to see the wild cards coming out of their basements. After solving the elements behind quantum theory, where is the magic of collective thinking that sparked the evolution of science?

Or maybe I need to pick up a book about modern tech. Because I can’t believe they left out
Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood babe who invented wifi… okay, maybe she's not a mad scientist, but a genius that formed the basis of all our gadgets today. Anyway. Science rules!

[Haider Hussain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, just okay-ish. If you are interested in anecdotes about "scientists", then its fine. But if you want to read about "science" progressing through human madness, jealousy, conflicts, deceptions and superstitions, a much better alternative is Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science.

[Jessie H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love learning more about my beloved science predecessors! This book has stories of scientists that are well-known and some that I have heard only the names of. This book was a neat idea and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[ASoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had very good ideas, very good stories, but the author is not a very good writer. Thoughts and stories are somewhat disconnected.

[Lee Belbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well researched and written summary of the lives of some odd/brilliant scientists. I knew about all of them but learnt many things about each that I didn't know before. Sad to read about the various conflicts that most of them had, and the bad treatment from their peers. Thus it ever was: Science is so conservative, making it hard for new ideas to get air - and then for those same ideas to be the new paradigm. This is a great read for anyonbe from 10 and up. Highly recommended.

[Khiem Kyuong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book got me into physics. As a result, I really enjoyed my physics series in college.

[Andrea Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ken Nickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun, and I'm always ready for more Tesla ;>

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid start to sparking interest in some of the greatest "mad scientists" to contribute to our collective knowledge.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prose here is straight-forward, less than artful, but it gets the job done well enough. The material doesn't need flowery words or crafty structure; it is beautiful and compelling all on its own. This book is a prefect illustration of the nearly boundless depths humans are capable of reaching when adequately motivated. The vast body of knowledge - all the things we can so easily read in books or look up online - were laboriously obtained by these genius men and women who loved the study of our natural world above everything else, so much so that they sacrificed their reputations, their fortunes, and in some cases, their sanity and even their lives, for the sake of learning. They were mental giants fit to be idolized. This book has given me a deep appreciation for the relentless work and perseverance and the passion of these brilliant scientists that made it possible for me to pick up a chemistry or biology or physics book, or to google anything my mind can wonder about, and learn the answer.

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book shows a great insight onto the scientist that have shaped our world into what it is today. It includes people from all over time, some you might have heard multiple time. This book tells scientist that might not have been seen as the most orthodox people of their time. However what they have accomplish makes them the way legacy tells of them today. Some of the scientist in this book might be less fame and yet there are famed scientist in the book like Albert Einstein.

[Gabriello]

I haven't read it yet, but I met and talked with the author at the convention "Arisia".

[Stephanie Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Burak Seki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bu kitabı gördüğünüzde büyülü "Evreka" sözcüğünü söylemeniz aslında tam yerinde olur.Çünkü gerçekten size çok şey katacak muazzam bir kitap buldunuz demektir.
Gerçekten tahminimin çok ötesinde bir kitaptı.Hem Tarihte Çığır açmış bilim insanlarını tanıyor hem icatlarını öğreniyor hemde hayatlarına dair ilginç ve size ilham veren olayları öğrenmiş oluyorsunuz.Bilimi seviyorsanız,özellikle bilim insanlarının hayatlarını merak ediyorsanız mutlaka alın okuyun.Hem gereksiz detaylar ile sıkmıyor hemde gerçekten baş döndürücü olayları anatarak sizi etkiliyor..
Nikola Tesla,Albert Einstein,Paracelcus,Marie Curie,Isaac Newton,Arşimet.. ve daha fazlası.