The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century: Nikola Tesla, Forgotten Genius of Electricity

I am not one to read a book, like at all. But for one of my college classes, I had to read a book related to my field (engineering) and write up a report about it. This book was a very easy and informative read. The only problem that I found is that there are some typos in various places in the book, but not a huge deal.

This book was an amazingly easy read with very precise and condensed story telling of the man Nicola Tesla. Absolutely amazing aspects about his childhood and what affected him early on and throughout his life. Depicting as accurately as it can about how he felt and how he shaped into his older age. I especially liked how Mr. Lamos really tried to portray how it felt to be in the shoes of Nicola Tesla. He speculated how it might of felt to want to change the world and immediately be shut down because of corruption and greed. Lamos tried his hardest to make it a brief history of electricity while following Nicola Tesla and his actions. There were a few grammar errors within the book and weird flow that forced you to stop and reread some paragraphs or passages two or three times in a row. But in all was a great read. I got a short review of the history of electricity and how some of his major works work, which by all means was absolutely fascinating but threw me in for a real loop since I have personally reviewed a small amount of his patents of Tesla’s patents. This book isn’t something to read if you want a huge in depth knowledge of how electricity works, it is here to shine some insight on who Nicola Tesla was and give us a good read to ponder about him. I accomplished my goal with this book to find out more about one of the most interesting scientists I have ever heard of.

A great read for anyone who likes biographies and/or wishes to discover the early history of AC electricity. Good insights into Edison and Westinghouse and how GE evolved. Not too technical but enough to understand AC, DC, Volts and Amps.

Wonderful insight into Nikola Tesla's life and accomplishments. Written in a sympathetic and caring way so as to understand how he came to make some of the decisions he made regarding his inventions and discoveries. I'm sure I'll read it again down the road.

Thought I was .getting a new book.

Well researched and a great primer on Tesla’s life and work. For such a small book it packs a lot in.

This was a very interesting read .Very detailed account was a bit tedious but all worth it in the end. I walked with a greater sense of appreciation for all the scientific achievements that have made our lives so much easier to live in the twentieth century. We take so much for granted. Read it and become enlightened.

An amazing story about someone most of us have never heard of, but who envisioned inventions and tools what are still being developed today.

This is an absolutely superb book. It is much more historical than scientific (I'm an engineer so would have appreciated the inclusion of more technical stuff) but no less fascinating for all that. It gives a good account of Tesla's inventions and achievements in the context of the competitive nature of the electricity industry at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century . Tesla comes across as a very vulnerable, naive individual thoroughly inexperienced in the ways of business and making money. He was therefore exploited mercilessly by Edision, Westinghouse and various financial types. He was also apparently quite vain and susceptable to flattery by those at the upper echelons of society. All of these factors led to his inevitable failure to profit commercially from his inventions. The book emphasises the driven, obsessive nature of the man in consistently pushing (and in many cases obliterating) the boundaries of knowledge of electrical engineering at the time. I found his driven passion for introducing the benefits of AC electricity in the face of fierce competition from large sections of the industry (including Edision himself, who like most opponents of AC at the time were thinking of their own commercial interests over the benefits to humanity) an absolute inspiration. I particularly admire the tendency of the author to steer clear of eulogising him and makes highly apparent his all too human flaws. Personally, I think that this made what Tesla achieved seem even more remarkable. Tesla was an extraordinarily gifted electrical engineer who was one hundred years ahead of his time and his genius cannot be over stated. Reading this book, I was left with a deep admiration and respect for his passion, genius and achievements in the advancement of harnessing and expanding accessability for electrical power. At the same time I find myself a long way from what might be termed hero worship. This is a testament to the author's even handed, fair and impartial account. if the author's intention was to write a book which reported the facts highlighting both Tesla's genius and his shortcomings in an equanimous manner, than he definitely succeeded, in my humble opinion.

You will love it. A very interesting story about a fascinating man. Easy to read and full of insightful information about Tesla's life, work and psychology

Sehr sehr interessant - absolut lesenswert .

An amazing book reflecting on an amazing man.

Perhaps Tesla is now better known in the US than in Europe apart from his native Croatia (or Serbia). One negative point: far too many typographical errors.