The Wizard of Menlo Park

What Hacker News says

1. sradmanSep 2020
   In addition to Matt Ridley, Stephen Johnson has written several popular books on innovation and "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by Randall Stross is a wonderful book on Thomas Edison.

   What I find missing in the original Steven Novella article is the role of the dynamo [1] as an enabling technology for the lightbulb, and indeed, the second industrial revolution:

   > Commercial electricity production started in 1870 with the coupling of the dynamo to the hydraulic turbine. The mechanical production of electric power began the Second Industrial Revolution and made possible several inventions using electricity, with the major contributors being Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla. Previously the only way to produce electricity was by chemical reactions or using battery cells, and the only practical use of electricity was for the telegraph.

   [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generation#History

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2. adventuredSep 2018
   In no particular order.

   Empires of Light, by Jonnes. Titan, by Chernow. The Wright Brothers, by McCullough. His Excellency, by Ellis. The Wizard of Menlo Park, by Stross. I Invented the Modern Age, by Snow. Dealers of Lightning, by Hiltzik. Margin of Safety, by Klarman. Masters of Doom, by Kushner. Andrew Carnegie, by Nasaw. Infidel, by Hirsi Ali. Buffett, by Lowenstein. Where Wizards Stay Up Late, by Hafner. Shoe Dog, by Knight. The Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Rhodes.

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3. hooandeJun 2011
   "The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World" http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Menlo-Park-Thomas-Invented/dp/1.... Highly recommend
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