Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A WINNING COMBINATION, August 4, 2002
How could Margaret Cheney (Tesla : Man Out Of Time) and Robert Uth (Tesla : Master Of Lightning) improve upon their past individual works (a book and documentary video, respectively)? By combining their efforts to produce this wonderful book, that's how. The informative text is interspersed with 250 b&w and duotone images that show Tesla and the era in which he excelled (truly a man out of time). Also included are 36 sidebars that explain some of the technical aspects of Tesla's works. After reading several other books on Tesla, I thought I knew it all. I'm happy to say that this one proved me wrong. Not to be missed by true Tesla fans.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasure to read, and important information to know, January 7, 2006
Fascinating. Tesla was born Serbian Orthodox in what is now Croatia (formerly part of Yugoslavia). Came to New York as a young man and lived and worked in the U.S. from the 1890s into the 1930s. He is often described as being "ahead of his time": He envisioned, designed, and even patented electronic devices some of which are only today being practically realized. The supporting technology or scientific knowledge did not yet exist for many of them, though he accurately theorized that they would be possible.
Various circumstances contributed to his being little known in America today (and not credited, even by scholars, with all that he accomplished). These include his unwillingness to work with wealthy corporate sponsors (as did Edison and Marconi) and the fact that much of his later work dealt with weaponry and thus was classified after his death. Also, his papers were returned to his native land and the ensuing Cold War prevented Western researchers from accessing them until recently. Many of his inventions-such as radio, AC electrical power, and radar-have long been credited to others. He foresaw-and his work contributed to the invention of-telephones, television, X-rays, satellite transmission, and directed energy weapons. He was also eccentric, probably suffered from OCD, and lived much of his life in poverty. This book downplays his eccentricities and paints him with an honest but very admiring brush.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Overview, but..., December 22, 2004
I found this book to be an excellent overview of Tesla's work and life. It's also a quick read. The book successfully conveys the image of Tesla as a remarkable inventor whose work and ideas were at the very forefront of the practical application of electromagnetic theory.
The book plays along uncritically, however, with Tesla's apparently self cultivated image of being a Wizard / Scientist. Many of Tesla's more controversial ideas and clams that were never, and have never been substantiated through experiment, can be dismissed as poppycock. By contrast all of Tesla's successful ideas rest on very firm scientic foundations. The Author makes no attempt to discriminate one from the other. Instead, unsubstantiated claims are sprinkled liberally with vague references to missing documents and political intrigue.
One excellent example of Tesla's tendancy for hyperbole is his claim of having built and tested an oscillator cable of creating earthquakes. Such a claim would have elicited knowing smirks even from 19th century scientists. Anyone doubting the foolishness of such a claim would do well to stay away from earth compactors and jackhammers, lest the Earth itself split in two! The Author(s)' failure to address Tesla's penchant for embellishment and hyperbole, and other odd aspects of Tesla's character (Other than frequent idle speculation on his sexual orientation) makes for a rather flat and onesided presentation.
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