Wizard
“The story of one of the most prolific, independent, and iconoclastic inventors of this century... fascinating.”—Scientific American Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), credited as the inspiration for radio, robots, and even radar, has been called the patron saint of modern electricity. Based on original material and previously unavailable documents, this acclaimed book is the definitive biography of the man considered by many to be the founding father of modern electrical technology. Among Tesla’s creations were the channeling of alternating current, fluorescent and neon lighting, wireless telegraphy, and the giant turbines that harnessed the power of Niagara Falls. This essential biography is illustrated with sixteen pages of photographs, including the July 20, 1931, Time magazine cover for an issue celebrating the inventor’s career. “Wizard is a truly remarkable biography of a remarkable man. The expression ‘ahead of his time’ is used too loosely and too often today but in the case of Nikola Tesla ‘ahead of his time’ barely describes the genius of this man. Marc Seifer makes us understand not only the man but the times in which he lived.”—Nelson DeMille “A deep and comprehensive biography of a great engineer of early electrical science—likely to become the definitive biography. Highly recommended.”—American Association for the Advancement of Science “Vivid, revelatory... the fullest account yet of Tesla as an entrepreneur, experimental physicist and inventor.”—Publishers Weekly
Stats for nerds
6recommend
9mentions
8people
2012–2019years
78% recommend22% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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* Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla by Marc Seifer: A biography of Nikola Tesla. Its quite astounding how much one person can achieve in their lifetime
- I’ll put in a vote for Wizard: the life and times of Nikola Tesla. I knew very little other than “Tesla == weird genius”, and the book gave me a much deeper view of his work, from trying to run power through the ground to building drone boats.
- I find a lot of these books too abstract. I much prefer books about people and their methods and accomplishments, as opposed to books that try to distill what they perceive as common characteristics of "succesful" people/businesses. Currently I'm reading "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation" and its quite wonderful.
"Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla" is a good read as well.
- Awesome, awesome idea. I find it sad that if you want to visit a Tesla museum you'd have to book a ticket to Serbia, even though the majority of his work was done here in the U.S., and he spent the majority of his life here.
"Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla" was a fascinating read.
- I highly recommend Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla : Biography of a Genius. http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Nikola-Biography-Genius-Citadel...
- Best Tesla reading I've found is Mark Seifer's book "Wizard, the Life and Times of Nikola Tesla". The audio book is excellent as well. Gives great insight into Tesla's personality and many events in history and the people around him.
