Customer Reviews

The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a story of good vs evil, of innocent lone inventor (not 'last' surely?!) versus the best (commercially) and worst (morally) of corporate USA. It is very much an American story for an American audience, and reads as yet another vehicle for the Farnsworth family's cry for recognition.

Schwartz though does not place Farnsworth so much on a pedestal, but rather creates the same relative effect by diminishing all opposition, in particular the efforts of the international TV scene and of the other US pioneers.. and this lack of balance and objectivity is the book's main failing and the reason for not awarding a higher rating.

One example: Ask yourself how good was the quality of the picture on the Image Dissector compared with the Iconoscope? You won't find an answer in the book. In fact Schwartz ignores the official 'bake-off' competition in Britain in late 1936 by the BBC between Marconi-EMI's version of the Iconoscope (EMItron) and the Baird Company's technologies including Farnsworth's Image Dissector. The official result was Farnsworth's device was no match for the EMItron in a studio environment.

Looking at the references gives the game away - there are no primary references for the non-Farnsworth, non-RCA material. The international scene is mostly dealt with by references to recent American popularist books. What about Kalman Tihanyi (inventor of Iconoscope, patented 1928)? Boris Rosing (Zworykin's teacher in Russia)?, Campbell Swinton (specified the electronic approach in 1908 and 1911)? Takayanagi (electronic television display demonstrated in 1926)? to name but a few. More balance please!

The American audience will love this highly readable popularist book. This is flag-waving entertaining stuff. Enjoy it, but please try to understand that this is not the whole story.

In The Last Lone Inventor, Evan I. Schwarz shares the birth, growth and maturity of a great mind, and lends some insight into the television industry in its seminal stage.

To borrow against another famous inventor's metaphor, Schwarz effectively captures the wonder of inspiration, which is but a small percentage of the process of invention as a whole. From Filo Farnsworth's potato field vision as a mere grammer school teen, to his post-war struggles against competing (and much better financed) visionaries, we see that he posessed one of those rare intellects that is capable of seeing solutions long before "normal" technically inclined people, and with far greater clarity. Farnsworth handily out-classed almost all his TV pioneer contemporaries.

Schwarz' story is engaging and hard to put down until the final chapters, where the story loses its momentum a bit (the author provides follow-up on Farnsworth's less spectacular later years, which is interesting but not as intriguing as the discovery of electronic television). The book is also a fine "period piece," in that it reveals picturesque vignettes of the subject's personal life outside the laboratory. And to the author's point (and hence the book's title), it illustrates well the struggles faced by a poorly funded independent inventor, as compared to a well-paid corporate lab engineer working with far better resources.

Getting back to Edison's metaphor, while the book amply portrays inspiration, it (wisely perhaps for commercial reasons) ignors much of the "perspiration" that lies between a visionary and his grail. To have explored this deeply would have rendered mundane the main theme of breakneck competitive struggle. Nevertheless, the reader does not grasp the full impact of Farnsworth's triumph until this element is considered -- Farnsworth's success was far more spectacular than even Schwarz reveals!

The shortfall can be filled with minor difficulty by the lay reader, and with greater ease by those already familiar with analog electronic communication (i.e., early radio and television). In essence it is this: Normally a lab striving to invent a system of multiple components would do so in an evolutionary process. For example, given the existence of a complete, functional television transmitter, receiver, and picture display apparatus, it would be relatively simple to create, for the first time and with no existing technology from which to begin, a functional television camera. In fact, given that any three of these major elements were already functional, it would be far easier to create any one of the other three. But try to create any two, with just the remaining two from which to base experiments, and the task is exponentially more difficult -- how does the inventor tweak any part of the aparatus when he cannot be sure ALL the other elements are 100% functional? But now consider starting out with ALL FOUR elements missing! That Farnsworth leveraged his creation of electronic television from the period's crude radio technology alone, with no outside help to speak of, and in just a few years, is staggering. The "persperation" he (and by proximity, his helpers) endured must have been terrific!

So buy this book. Evan Schwarz does a great job entertaining readers of both genders with a story of inspiration, romance and above all, genesis -- the creation of a wondrous invention that has impacted all of civilization. The Filo Farnsworth story ranks, in some ways, right up there with the United States' moon shot in 1969 (if my last paragraph made the point, be sure to read books about that great achievement too -- you'll be even more awed).

Looking for precedence in the desktop PC operating system wars? The battle for television standard supremacy is exhibit ABC!

Similar to Microsoft's grab for OS hegemony in the 1980s and 1990s, RCA outmaneuvered archrivals AT&T, Westinghouse, Philco to capture the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of the American public. And while the battle was fought by the best minds Corporate America could muster, it was a lone inventor by the name of Philo T Farnsworth who gave RCA all it could handle on the innovation front, but was eventually outgunned by RCA honcho and master marketeer David Sarnoff, who perfectly played the courts to outlast the brilliant but business-challenged entrepreneur.

In fact, the story is reminiscent of IBM's early 1980s investigation for a PC operating system. Computer geeks might remember that at that time Digital Research's CP/M was considered the best of breed PC operating system, and Big Blue was desperate to have it power its fledgling IBM PC. IBM execs, however, couldn't get a meeting with CP/M's inventor Gary Kildall (IBM had arranged to meet him at home, but Kildall was off flying his plane, leaving his wife Dorothy to negotiate a deal but she wouldn't sign a non-disclosure agreement.). So Big Blue sought alternatives, eventually striking a deal with Microsoft for an operating system the then infant company didn't yet have rights to (which was eventually called MS-DOS). And the rest, as they say ... is history!

Sarnoff bluffed, licensed and marketed his way into the television space. Farnsworth like Kildall, was almost too bright for his own good. He thought the game would be decided by the technical merits of his product. That wasn't the case then -- nor is it now. It's not who invents the better mousetrap that wins; it's who defines, controls and spins the battle to suit his ends. It's marketing muscle not technological superiority -- as Microsoft has proven time and again.

Kildall died battered and bruised (physically and emotionally) not unlike Farnsworth who passed on as a penniless and forgotten man.

I could easily see this book turned into a major motion picture: Johnnie Depp in the Farnsworth role; Bob Hoskins as Sarnoff. But don't wait for the movie. This book is a page-turner -- you won't be disappointed. Farnsworth, like Kildall, can't be forgotten. It's books like this that guarantee he won't.

This is a fascinating story. I hadn't heard of Philo T. Farnsworth before this book, and as many others, believed that David Sarnoff invented TV. The story of Sarnoff's deliberate attempt to grab the glory and commercial reward of television using every legal and marketing trick at RCA's disposal is surprising and almost unbelievable. The account definitely dispelled my (obviously naïve) belief that individuals who create great inventions are richly rewarded for their contributions. Yet I still found it a generally balanced account - I came away thinking that David Sarnoff was an aggressive, driven, ruthless competitor, but with an appreciation of his accomplishments. Evan Schwartz's writing is clear and enjoyable, and the co-operation of Pem Farnsworth added depth and detail that really brought Philo Farnsworth's tribulations to life.

I loved this book, the story of yet another unsung hero, the lone wolf pioneer, oblivious to the world's thieves, fighting to realize a dream, then getting ripped off for it at the moment of success. Ask yourself: who invented the lightbulb, the telephone, the radio, the airplane? You know the answer. (It might not actually be fully correct, but you can certainly come up with an appropriate name.) Now, who invented television? That is, the means of converting a moving image into a stream of electrons. Stumped? Some people know the names of Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth, but not many. This book is the extremely fascinating story of Philo T. Farnsworth (what a name!) and how one man, David Sarnoff, succeeded in placing in the mind of the public the idea that television was created by him, as the leader of RCA/NBC. Zworykin worked for Sarnoff, and between the two totally ripped off the ideas and even the patents behind the creation of TV. While Farnsworth did receive a minimal amount of credit and some money during his life, in the end his name was buried as far as the public was concerned.

Unfortunately, the author seems oblivious to the fact of similar rip-offs occurring right amongst some of the minor characters of the story, in particular Edison AND Marconi stealing, and trying to keep Tesla from receiving, the credit he deserved for lighting and radio discoveries. Everyone has their own axe to grind, but the fact is if you dig deep enough, there are probably stories like this surrounding every great technological advance.

Anyway, if you at all like the genre, this book is bound to become a classic for you. It's also a great cautionary tale regarding the weaknesses of the patent system as practiced in the USA.

For science and invention-history buffs, this is a no-brainer, but even the non-technoid layperson will find this a fascinating and fast-paced read. The author does an excellent job of presenting the key characters' development and motiviation, interspersing very fluidly the important biographical details of both Farnsworth and Sarnoff with appropriate and necessary background information on the technological evolution that eventually drew their lives together.

Schwartz achieves an entertaining balance between the social history of television and radio, the scientific minutae of the early growth of these technologies, and the personal lives of the individuals involved. Without becoming self-righteous or dogmatic, he lets the reader know where he stands on the issue of scientific integrity versus commercial exploitation, and succeeds in proving his underlying thesis that Farnsworth was truly one of the last of his breed. Finely researched and tightly written, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book.

This is an excellent book. I am well-versed in all of the facts it contains through other sources, including some I did not find here, but I enjoy this particular book for its style and pacing. Its like reading a great mystery or adventure tale--which of course it is.

The sad thing is, RCA (Specifically, the Sarnoff crowd) continues to hedge and justify and outright ATTACK from their end, even now. There is a blog maintained by the David Sarnoff foundation, which posted a response to "The Farnsworth Invention" back in 2007. The writer not only defended Sarnoff (natural enough), but could not resist taking personal shots at Farnsworth (calling him an un-mentored, uneducated, drunk), the quality of his invention (basically, it was crap compared to RCA & Zworykin), and even calling into question the validity of patent law itself ("You have a patent? What good's a patent?"). It is pretty pathetic.

I don't know if I can insert the link, but I'll try. "[...]

Many of the allegations made are also completely inaccurate, as anyone who has read this book knows. The Kinescope and Iconoscope actually both required patent clearance from Farnsworth, and it was Farnsworth who built the first "storage" cathode ray tube (pat. no 2087683) not Zworykin.

More party conversation facts that you can expect to collect from 99/100 other books. A great story, well told. Professionally and rigorously researched. Fun to read.

Ask any fifth grader who invented the telephone, even today when cell phones are ubiquitous and therefore absolutely no wonder at all, and the youngster will tell you: "Why everyone knows it's Alexander Graham Bell"! Ask that same child who invented television and there is a high likelihood that the answer, if one is given, will be incorrect. In the twentieth century there have been few inventions of any sort to cast bigger shadows than those of the inventions of the telephone and TV. Both arestill are weaving changes into the twenty-first century as well!

Telephones have provided the miracle of a very personal type of communication, however, we as a society have experienced more profound influences, including real change, due to TV than by any other medium. So, how come so few people know, and celebrate, the inventor who is responsible for one of mankind's most fantastic and far-reaching advancements? It is a big question and one that you would have thought wouldn't need to be ask. Fact is well over half of the population of the United States still doesn't have a clue who the heck invented television...Unbelievable!

What is equally unbelievable is that until the late nineties there was so little in the way of mainstream books regarding the matter. That has changed as of 2011 as there is now several of which "The Last Lone Inventor" by Evan I. Schwartz is certainly one of the more entertaining. The subtitle, "A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television" largely tells the angle the author pursues. Not only are the travails of Philo T. Farnsworth a fantastic adventure, they expose an ominous darkness due to the newly rising American Corporate structure which until this day, perhaps even more so, stifles what an a lone inventor can accomplish. It's David vs. Goliath in the truest sense...Only the Goliath is actually named David (Sarnoff) who singlehandedly inflicts the wrath of one of the world's largest corporations, RCA, to take all the credit, and patents, from Philo T. Farnsworth. What occurred would fit the saying regarding losing the battle, but winning the war new relevance. Yes, even with his patents giving him credit for the first electronically based audio/video broadcasting system affirmed after numerous legal battles, David Sarnoff still publically proclaimed himself at the 1939 World's Fair to be "The Father of Television". It was a shrewd move that even when he later was forced to pay for the use of Philo's patents the public at large believed RCA in general, and David Sarnoff in particular, birthed television.

This book begs to be made into a feature film. It has all, if not more, of the elements which made the movie "Tucker", made by Steven Spielberg about Preston Tucker, who like Farnsworth was visionary and thus attacked from all sides, so rich. In this case, however, it was a single man's mission to usurp the one man that could possibly stand between him and his goal of bringing the greatest invention of the age to reality. Fortunate for "General" David Sarnoff he had one of the world's richest corporations at his disposal. One gets the feeling that in some ways he wielded more absolute power than even the government of The United States as he went about methodically stealing, or buying, sometimes for a pittance, whatever intellectual property he pleased. Few people could have prevailed in any way against such an unbelievable force, but Philo T. Farnsworth was singular in his steadfastness and he gave RCA and Sarnoff almost more than even they could handle. In the end, however, the crafty Sarnoff got what he wanted; Sarnoff practically reduced Farnsworth to a footnote which is still being corrected as I write this. In fact, part of the joy in reading this is the revelations for our generation of a driven inventor who is finally getting the much deserved public recognition he largely did not receive during his lifetime. I find it uplifting Pem Farnsworth (deceased 2006) lived to see the publication of this book as well as an Emmy being awarded in 2002 to her late husband as the inventor of electronic television.

I want to add that Evan I. Schwartz seemed to achieve a very even-handed account of Farnsworth himself due to the cooperation of Mrs. Farnsworth as well as doing the same for David Sarnoff through the David Sarnoff library among other sources. Sarnoff comes off as not purely evil, but manically driven by his belief that Farnsworth's patent should be shared by his own company. In reality I think it was a belief of convenience as the reader realizes Sarnoff willed himself to believe it as absolute, Farnsworth patent or no patent. I hope this book serves to inform many more of what a great inventor Philo T. Farnsworth was and how the world is still being shaped by the power it unleashed. There is a small justice in that two of Pem and Philo's sons are very much still here to receive some of the adulation their father so richly deserves. I highly recommend this book as a general interest read, not just for anyone interested in science!

How can anyone imagine a more fascinating "lone inventor" book about one young man's dream and life of inventing modern electronic television!?