Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla (Hardcover)

~ John Jacob O'Neill (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"John O'Neil understands me better than any man alive." -- Nikola Tesla --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

This was the first full-length biography written on the genius inventor, Nikola Tesla. The author was a Pulitzer Prize-winner and personal friend of Tesla, who once said the author understood him better than any man alive. It is reflected well in this highly detailed work. Much of the information in this book was personal and important, but might otherwise not have been known had O'Neill not documented it. The immense genius of Tesla resulted from a mind that could see an invention in 3-D, from every angle, within his mind before it was easily built. His dimensions and part sizes were always perfect. He never tested parts; they always worked. Most of his inventions were electrical in nature, with dozens of his patents now being used around the world. Much is revealed on Tesla's eccentric personality, his competition with Thomas Edison, and how he made his first million before the age of forty. Money was not important to him, however, nor was The Nobel Prize, which he refused to accept. It was always the science that came first. Due to the author's friendship with him, we are allowed an up close and intimate view into the mind of this genius inventor. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Angriff Press (June 1944)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0913022403
• ISBN-13: 978-0913022405
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,551,145 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who was Nikola Tesla? Here's your answer..., January 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla (Paperback)

If you've never read anything by or about Tesla, or even if you've only read his technical writings, here's the book that will answer your questions about Tesla. Written from the point of view of someone who knew him, Prodigal Genius gives an amazing glimpse into the personality of this remarkable inventor. There are lengthy passages about his childhood and early career including how he got cheated out of $20,000 for inventing alternating current. There are also thought-provoking stories about how some of his inventions backfired and almost shook down a city block or two! Even if you're not a Tesla nut, Prodigal Genius is a great read--it's exciting enough that it's hard to put down. If you weren't a Tesla nut when you picked it up, you will be when you put it down!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Book About the Amazing Life of Nikola Tesla, October 5, 2004

By	Louise Cate (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book tells the fascinating story of an amazing Serbian boy, Nikola Tesla, who was born in 1856, in the area we now call Bosnia. The author explains how Tesla's accomplishments brought forth our modern electrical power era and provide the foundation for the industrial system on which the entire world is built.

Tesla's mother could repeat, without error or omission, thousands of verses of the national poetry of her country. Tesla shared her retentive memory. He had another ability that he only revealed to his mother. If Tesla thought of an object, it would appear before him exhibiting the appearance of solidity and massiveness. He used this ability to visualize the solution to creating the first alternating current generator.

The first time Tesla's ability to visualize helped him in his quest to develop an alternating current generator, occurred when he suggested to a college professor that alternating current would solve some of the problems with a piece of electrical equipment that could be used either to generate electricity or if supplied energy could operate as a motor. As his professor demonstrated the machine, the solution to the problem came to Tesla in such a vivid, illuminating flash of understanding that he knew his visualization contained the correct and practical answer. He saw both the equipment operating without the problems and doing so efficiently, however, he could not see the essential details of how this could be accomplished.

In Feb of 1882, Tesla took a walk in the city of Budapest with a former classmate. While a glorious sunset overspread the sky, Tesla engaged in one of his favorite hobbies-reciting poetry. The setting sun reminded Tesla of some of Goethe's beautiful lines:

The glow retreats, done is the day of toil;
It yonder hastes, new fields of life exploring;
Ah, that no wing can lift me from the soil,
Upon its track to follow, follow soaring...

Suddenly, Tesla snapped into a rigid pose as if he had fallen into a trance. "Watch me!" he said, "Watch me reverse it!"

Tesla's friend said, "I see nothing, are you ill?"

"You do not understand," said Tesla, "It is my alternating-current motor I am talking about. Can't you see it right here in front of me, running almost silently? It is the rotating magnetic field that does it. See how the magnetic field rotates and drags the armature around with it? Isn't it beautiful? I have solved the problem."

Tesla now had an electrical system utilizing alternating current, which was much more flexible and vastly more efficient than the direct-current system then being used. But now Tesla had another problem, convincing the rest of the world that his alternating-current power system was simpler, flexible and freed electricity to be sent long distances. The direct-current systems being used at that time were not able to send electricity long distances without major problems. The fact that our power system today uses alternating-current shows that Tesla was finally successful. The book, Prodigal Genius, provides all the fascinating details of this story

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring book -- great for kids or adults!, January 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla (Paperback)

I read this book in April 1945, just after it first appeared. A fantastically inspiring book for me, then a 14-year-old would-be genius. It nourished me intellectually and emotionally for five years -- until I outgrew it. The author was science editor for the New York Herald Tribune, but like so many Tesla enthusiasts today, was uncritical of Tesla's theoretical ideas, neither recasting them in today's language of physics, nor criticizing them where they are clearly wrong (or wrong-headed). Still, it's a book scientifically-oriented folks should read.