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My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla
by
Nikola Tesla
"The progressive development of man is virtually dependent on invention. It is the most important product of his creative brain." Nikola Tesla, uncelebrated oracle of the electronic age without whom our telephone, radio, automobile ignition, and television would have been unrealized, was born in Croatia in 1856. He studied physics and mathematics at Graz Poly Tec...more
Paperback, 117 pages
Published
December 3rd 2007
by WWW.Bnpublishing.com
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Read this on Graham's recommendation, and it was *fascinating* to hear it from the man himself. Tesla was famous for inventing alternating current (AC), which is used in every house and electric motor today. He was a famous scientist of his time, and supposedly there was some rift with him and Edison. It appears actually that Tesla sold his patents and the company that bought them sued everyone else, causing his name to be associated with the suits, even though he wasn't really involved. Tes...more
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What a bizarre little book. Tesla has always seemed to me someone who existed in a space between our world and another unfathomable place, brought here by a glitch in dimensions or something. This loose memoir confirms my suspicions :). And not only because of passages like this: "I had a brother who was gifted to an extraordinary degree; one of those rare phenomena of mentality which biological investigation has failed to explain. His premature death left my earth parents disconsolate."...more
I decided to flip through the pages of My Inventions after my dad enthusiastically described how engineers at McMaster university, following Tesla’s principles, had powered a fan using electricity that was transmitted wirelessly from one mini tower to another.
Lacking a technical background, I didn’t think the book would capture my interest; but I was hooked from the very first page. Not only does Tesla share some unique observations of the world and his mind, such as his self-preser...more
Lacking a technical background, I didn’t think the book would capture my interest; but I was hooked from the very first page. Not only does Tesla share some unique observations of the world and his mind, such as his self-preser...more
The man doesn't age! There are photos of him from about 18 to 66 and he looks the exact same! He could also design, build and test machines inside his head -- if a single part was out of balance he would know before he ever put it together. Plus he masters the forces of the universe, created wireless electricity and speaks to you in that crazed early 20th century mad professor talk.
This has been very, very interesting. A book written by an undisputed genius in his very own words.
I must say this book was a surprise. I was expecting lots of technical detail, but instead the book was filled with lots of interesting stories and insightful social comment. Some of the stories were even hilarious, causing me to laugh out loud a number of times.
The book also gives some insight into what it's like to be a genius, and some of the abilities such a person posse...more
I must say this book was a surprise. I was expecting lots of technical detail, but instead the book was filled with lots of interesting stories and insightful social comment. Some of the stories were even hilarious, causing me to laugh out loud a number of times.
The book also gives some insight into what it's like to be a genius, and some of the abilities such a person posse...more
I could not decide whether to give this book 2 or 4 stars so I am giving it 3. Tesla is weird, I am pretty weird, but Tesla is really weird. He is not that great of a writer. His tales jump back and forth in time and we jump in and out of his mind. He presents most things as real, but there are a few imagined instances that can easily be seen as him believing they are real. The book does not go much into his inventions, despite the title. There are many anecdotes from his youth, and a couple fro...more
I read this book three times. Although its a bit disorganized and despite the fact that it is a very brief autobiography, it remains to be one of the best autobiographies I have read. I don't think anyone who reads Tesla's autobiography wouldn't be fascinated by him. His character, his genius, and most of all, his hard work that lead to many of the advancements we see today. Tesla was one of the visionaries of the 19th and 20th century, yet so many people never heard about him.
The 'book' i...more
The 'book' i...more
It seems to me as if Tesla was a pretty funny guy, and a bit nutty. Reading his autobiography, I get the feeling that, at the turn of the century (19th-20th), some decisions were made (by whom?) regarding energy sources that have us where we are now, and that, if Tesla and certain others(?) had had more of a say, we would be living in a much different world. Maybe we would have arrived here (or at a semblance of it) even earlier (1950, throwing out a random year). Maybe I'm succumbing to para...more
It's kind of short for an autobiography, I think, and I kind of wished it was a bit longer. It's mostly about Tesla's experiences that made him want to become an inventor and what he did as an inventor. He had a pretty dramatic life. And he doesn't get enough credit (he did invent the AC motor.) Yeah, if I ever had the chance to make a biopic, it would certainly be about Nikola Tesla.
Short and not very comprehensive. The most interesting part is how Nikola self analysis some of psychotic issues. He is fully aware that his brain is not normal, in both genius and crazy ways.
He did not mention any personal relations in the book. Not once. No girl, no boy he was friends with or dated. After reading this I would like to read a few more books about him.
He did not mention any personal relations in the book. Not once. No girl, no boy he was friends with or dated. After reading this I would like to read a few more books about him.
Turns out that the fascinating man with the fascinating ideas should have used a ghost writer when it came to his memoirs. This collection of serialized articles, written by Tesla long after his commercial successes had come and gone, provide an interesting sketch of the inventor, but they're really too short and too general to stand up as a bona fide autobiography.
Fascinating look at a brilliant man who had all kinds of “problems” (on the autism spectrum, very OCD, extreme synesthesia)—but who viewed them as assets and used them in some extremely brilliant and world-changing inventions.
Very interesting book. If you know who Tesla was and what his contributions are, I'd strongly recommend reading this book. The book talks about his early life, and he discusses how applied science to solve real world problems, and later on his inventions.
Find out about Nikola Tesla's life through his own words. You can feel his passion for invention and engineering in his narration. Slightly dramatic, but very inspiring, representation of Tesla's mind and adventures.
Really interesting to read about his life through his own eyes, although I got terribly lost in the last two chapters when he stopped talking about himself and more about his inventions. Indeed he said at one point "This was perfectly self-evident, but came as a revelation to some simple-minded wireless folks" which definitely made me feel stupid because I had no idea what he was talking about at this point. But, if you want an insight into a genius mind, or if you want to make yours...more
This man invented almost everything we have today....If only Edison had joined with him to light up the world, and give us affordable energy.
A great book, i thought it would read like a tech manual. Was surprised by the book and the ease of the read what a remarkable man.
Awesome book. I loved getting to see how mad scientist thinks. I learned a lot about Tesla that I did not know. He was a very interesting man.
I think it's fair to say that it was *not* shocking whatsoever that Tesla was OCD, suffered from temporal hallucinations, and was a precocious child.
-m
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Umm...I think I'm in LOVE with a dead guy! Seriously, Nikola Tesla is a pure genius and his intelligence far surpasses that of Einstein.
I wish he would have written a book earlier on and since this was written in his late sixties and is very short, readers are left wanting more. Among many other astounding inventions, including building an AC motor, he came up with the concept of wireless communication in the 1890's!!!
I was heartbroken when I read he died alone in a hot...more
I wish he would have written a book earlier on and since this was written in his late sixties and is very short, readers are left wanting more. Among many other astounding inventions, including building an AC motor, he came up with the concept of wireless communication in the 1890's!!!
I was heartbroken when I read he died alone in a hot...more
Nikola Tesla should stick to science. He wasn't the greatest writer.
All one can say is AMAZING! I always get SO inspired when I read about figures like Nicola Tesla... I mean anyone who says - "My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get a new idea, I start at once building it up in my imagination, and make improvements and operate the device in my mind. When I have gone so far as to embody everything in my invention, every possible improvement I can think of, and when I see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form the final produc...more
Really ineresting way of knowing how a genius' mind works
A short intriguing autobiography by the man himself.
Really interesting look into the mind of a slightly neurotic scientist and inventor.
unique fellow, but brillant
I'm a nerd.
Flowquietly
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David in aussieland
Wow what a mind, both original and creative. Explains how we have come to the technology we enjoy today, but also shows how things could be so much better, Farsighted philosopher who foresaw the good and bad of his inventions. A must read for anyone who wants to know by what stepping stones we have arrived at where we are today
2.5 out of 5
This extremely short biography if even you can call it that and will give a glimpse and pieces on the mind of one of the greatest scantiest but it has a lot of technical idea and old un-updated information which may create a difficulties for the reader to understand what Tesla is Talking about.
My bf has been derangedly obsessed lately (mostly via Wikipedia and conspiracy theory sites) with Tesla. I should probably read this so I can set his wild-eyed rambling right.
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Nikola Tesla was a genius polymath, inventor and a mechanical and electrical engineer. He is frequently cited as one of the most important contributors to the birth of commercial electricity, a man who "shed light over the face of Earth," and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla's ...more
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“Invention is the most important product of man's creative brain. The ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the material world, the harnessing of human nature to human needs.”
—
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