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Tesla: Inventor of the Modern
Nikola Tesla invented radio, robots, and remote control. His electric induction motors run our appliances and factories. In the early 1900s, he designed plans for cell phones, the Internet, death-ray weapons, and interstellar communication. His ideas have lived on to shape the modern economy, yet he has been largely overlooked by history. In Tesla, Richard Munson presents a comprehensive portrait of this farsighted and underappreciated mastermind. Drawing on letters, technological notebooks, and other primary sources, Munson pieces together the magnificently bizarre personal life and mental habits of the enigmatic inventor whose most famous inventions were the product of a mind fueled by both the humanities and sciences—Tesla conceived the induction motor while walking through a park and reciting Goethe’s Faust. Clear, authoritative, and highly readable, Tesla takes into account all the phases of Tesla’s remarkable life and career.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2018
269 people are currently reading
8096 people want to read
About the author
Richard Munson
24 books96 followersBloomsbury in June 2025 will release "Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America's Biggest Industry," which explains the recent rise of racketeering and bribery by utilities seeking billion-dollar bailouts for dirty and uneconomic power plants.
W.W. Norton in November 2024 published "Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist."
Norton previously released "Tesla: Inventor of the Modern," a biography of the under-appreciate genius who brought us the electric motor, radio, robots, and remote control.
Other Richard Munson books include; "Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food;" "From Edison to Enron," a history of the electricity industry; "The Cardinals of Capitol Hill," a behind-the-scenes look at congressional appropriators; and "Cousteau: The Captain and His World," a biography of the undersea explorer.
In addition to writing, Munson has been a senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund, senior vice president of Recycled Energy Development, executive director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, director of Solar Lobby and Center for Renewable Resources, co-coordinator of Sun Day, coordinator of Environmental Action Foundation, and director of the University of Michigan's Pilot Program.
W.W. Norton in November 2024 published "Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist."
Norton previously released "Tesla: Inventor of the Modern," a biography of the under-appreciate genius who brought us the electric motor, radio, robots, and remote control.
Other Richard Munson books include; "Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food;" "From Edison to Enron," a history of the electricity industry; "The Cardinals of Capitol Hill," a behind-the-scenes look at congressional appropriators; and "Cousteau: The Captain and His World," a biography of the undersea explorer.
In addition to writing, Munson has been a senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund, senior vice president of Recycled Energy Development, executive director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, director of Solar Lobby and Center for Renewable Resources, co-coordinator of Sun Day, coordinator of Environmental Action Foundation, and director of the University of Michigan's Pilot Program.
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May 30, 2018
4.5
Nikola Tesla has become a Culture Icon known more for his reputation as a kind of magician and rogue inventor, thanks to the movie The Prestige, and as a visionary, his name recognized because of Tesla Motors. And yet few of us understand that everything we take for granted today--the electric grid, cell phones, satellite television, the Internet, the smartwatch, and even the remote control of warfare--first sprung from his imagination.
I knew Tesla from bits and pieces. I remember when my son and husband bantered about things looking like a 'Tesla coil,' a reference to a weapon in Command and Conquer Red Alert. The 2006 movie The Prestige showed Tesla's Colorado laboratory and work in remote transmission of electricity.
In 2016 I read The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore, an exciting historical novel about the rivalry between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison, with Tesla in the center. In The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson and The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City by Margaret Creighton I learned about the Chicago and Buffalo fairs lit by Tesla and George Westinghouse.
And then, in my mailbox, I found a gift from W. W. Norton-- a copy of Richard Munson's biography Tesla: Inventor of the Modern. I was pleased to have all these bits and pieces of knowledge integrated into an understanding and appreciation of Tesla's life and work and legacy.
The more I learned about the man, the less I felt I 'knew' him. He was brilliant and flawed and complicated and chimerical. He worked out entire inventions in his mind before he built them. He was impeccably dressed and amazingly fit-- and a charming germaphobe who could not be touched. His obsessive-compulsive disorder ruled his habits and he fought depression with self-administered electroshock therapy. He was a lousy businessman who signed away his rights to millions and later, deep in debt, lost his research facilities. He could be vain and he could be magnanimous. He was addicted to the pure science of discovery.
"The War of the Currents" refers to the rivalry between inventors vying for precedence. Thomas Edison clung to direct current, which could not be transmitted over long distances and relegated electric power to the rich few. Tesla invented alternating current capable of powering whole regions. With George Westinghouse using Tesla's inventions, in 1893 they created the City of Lights at the Chicago Columbian Expedition.
The commission to harness the power of Niagara Falls attracted worldwide attention. Westinghouse and Tesla won the contract and in 1896 the hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls was opened, powering the Rainbow City at the 1901 Pan-American Expedition in Buffalo, NY. Tesla saw the feat as signifying "the subjugation of natural forces to the service of man" that would "relieve millions from want and suffering."
Tesla had reached superstar status, but already he was envisioning the next big idea.
At the turn of the century, gas lamps still reigned, with only 8% of American homes wired for electricity. The question remained to be answered:"Was electricity for all or for the wealthy? Would power become a necessity or remain a luxury?" Tesla was obsessed with the idea of using the earth for the transference of wireless electric power.
He went on to invent remote control and multichannel broadcasting systems. Tesla had little interest in creating and marketing useful devices based on his discoveries. He rejected an offer to develop wireless communication for the US Lighthouse Board and other projects which would have financed his research.
Next up, he built a research center in Colorado, portrayed in the movie The Prestige in which David Bowie plays Tesla in Colorado puttering around with wireless energy. His last facility on Long Island, NY went far over budget. Tesla was broke. He lost backers who wanted practical applications, something they could make money on, and Tesla was only interested in pure research. It was heartbreaking to read about Tesla's untethered last years, his increasing eccentricities in behavior, and poverty as he watched others make millions on his ideas and inventions.
Munson offers Tesla as a role model, writing, "...we have great need today of Tesla's example of selfless out-of-the-box thinking if we are to tackle our twenty-first-century challenges...particularly in the electric-power industry he helped create." Munson continues, "he would lead a charge for sustainability and against the carbon pollution that is changing our climate." He knew that coal was a limited supply and imagined harnessing energy from the sun and geothermal energy.
Tesla was one of the most interesting and remarkable men I have read about. I appreciate that Munson's explanations of Tesla's discoveries and inventions were written so the general reader could grasp them.
Nikola Tesla has become a Culture Icon known more for his reputation as a kind of magician and rogue inventor, thanks to the movie The Prestige, and as a visionary, his name recognized because of Tesla Motors. And yet few of us understand that everything we take for granted today--the electric grid, cell phones, satellite television, the Internet, the smartwatch, and even the remote control of warfare--first sprung from his imagination.
I knew Tesla from bits and pieces. I remember when my son and husband bantered about things looking like a 'Tesla coil,' a reference to a weapon in Command and Conquer Red Alert. The 2006 movie The Prestige showed Tesla's Colorado laboratory and work in remote transmission of electricity.
In 2016 I read The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore, an exciting historical novel about the rivalry between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison, with Tesla in the center. In The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson and The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City by Margaret Creighton I learned about the Chicago and Buffalo fairs lit by Tesla and George Westinghouse.
And then, in my mailbox, I found a gift from W. W. Norton-- a copy of Richard Munson's biography Tesla: Inventor of the Modern. I was pleased to have all these bits and pieces of knowledge integrated into an understanding and appreciation of Tesla's life and work and legacy.
The more I learned about the man, the less I felt I 'knew' him. He was brilliant and flawed and complicated and chimerical. He worked out entire inventions in his mind before he built them. He was impeccably dressed and amazingly fit-- and a charming germaphobe who could not be touched. His obsessive-compulsive disorder ruled his habits and he fought depression with self-administered electroshock therapy. He was a lousy businessman who signed away his rights to millions and later, deep in debt, lost his research facilities. He could be vain and he could be magnanimous. He was addicted to the pure science of discovery.
"The War of the Currents" refers to the rivalry between inventors vying for precedence. Thomas Edison clung to direct current, which could not be transmitted over long distances and relegated electric power to the rich few. Tesla invented alternating current capable of powering whole regions. With George Westinghouse using Tesla's inventions, in 1893 they created the City of Lights at the Chicago Columbian Expedition.
The commission to harness the power of Niagara Falls attracted worldwide attention. Westinghouse and Tesla won the contract and in 1896 the hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls was opened, powering the Rainbow City at the 1901 Pan-American Expedition in Buffalo, NY. Tesla saw the feat as signifying "the subjugation of natural forces to the service of man" that would "relieve millions from want and suffering."
Tesla had reached superstar status, but already he was envisioning the next big idea.
At the turn of the century, gas lamps still reigned, with only 8% of American homes wired for electricity. The question remained to be answered:"Was electricity for all or for the wealthy? Would power become a necessity or remain a luxury?" Tesla was obsessed with the idea of using the earth for the transference of wireless electric power.
He went on to invent remote control and multichannel broadcasting systems. Tesla had little interest in creating and marketing useful devices based on his discoveries. He rejected an offer to develop wireless communication for the US Lighthouse Board and other projects which would have financed his research.
Next up, he built a research center in Colorado, portrayed in the movie The Prestige in which David Bowie plays Tesla in Colorado puttering around with wireless energy. His last facility on Long Island, NY went far over budget. Tesla was broke. He lost backers who wanted practical applications, something they could make money on, and Tesla was only interested in pure research. It was heartbreaking to read about Tesla's untethered last years, his increasing eccentricities in behavior, and poverty as he watched others make millions on his ideas and inventions.
Munson offers Tesla as a role model, writing, "...we have great need today of Tesla's example of selfless out-of-the-box thinking if we are to tackle our twenty-first-century challenges...particularly in the electric-power industry he helped create." Munson continues, "he would lead a charge for sustainability and against the carbon pollution that is changing our climate." He knew that coal was a limited supply and imagined harnessing energy from the sun and geothermal energy.
Tesla was one of the most interesting and remarkable men I have read about. I appreciate that Munson's explanations of Tesla's discoveries and inventions were written so the general reader could grasp them.
May 31, 2020
I'm glad I picked this biography from W. W. Norton as my first deeper exploration into this genius inventor's life. Tesla was a visionary, far ahead of his time in predicting technology; he basically predicted aerospace engineering, phones, computers, radio, television, robots, artificial intelligence, the Internet, and countless other technological capabilities. But his brain was too big for business. He was eccentric, egotistical, vain, and seemed to care more about accolades and theories than practical applications. He saw completely clear pictures of things in his mind, but couldn't seem to get those ideas across to business men who would back him. Because he made poor business decisions and couldn't sustain long-term profit off his inventions, he died shamed and penniless. While research on Tesla seems to have had a revival since the 1990s, he didn't die in as much obscurity as I'd first thought. Many people continued to write about him during his later years, and many attended his funeral. Would recommend if you're interested in this part of history.
December 12, 2018
This was a lot more exciting than I thought it could be.
I have read and heard a lot about Tesla over the years, some true, some myth, but I enjoyed this more than two earlier biographies I read awhile ago. It was a very entertaining biography and the pace was just right. It turns Tesla back into a human being while still showing how important and interesting he was. Recommended.
I have read and heard a lot about Tesla over the years, some true, some myth, but I enjoyed this more than two earlier biographies I read awhile ago. It was a very entertaining biography and the pace was just right. It turns Tesla back into a human being while still showing how important and interesting he was. Recommended.
May 21, 2019
Tesla was an eccentric but fascinating man. Born at the stroke of midnight during a thunderstorm, he survived cholera, malaria, and other near deaths before he was 20 (this made him a germaphobe). This bio had many human interest stories, such as his relationships with people like Edison, JP Morgan Chase, Marconi, and these parts of the book really interested me. At one point the book seemed to get too technical (AC/DC, etc.) and those parts didn't hold my interest, but the technical parts didn't last long.
Tesla was a prolific inventor and true visionary, and predicted many of the technologies we use today ("wireless telephones that one can carry in their vest pocket" and "newspapers that are printed wirelessly" there are many more but I can't remember the quotes). He also seemed to be a decent human being...unlike some of his contemporaries, and was truly a genius who was ahead of his time.
Tesla was a prolific inventor and true visionary, and predicted many of the technologies we use today ("wireless telephones that one can carry in their vest pocket" and "newspapers that are printed wirelessly" there are many more but I can't remember the quotes). He also seemed to be a decent human being...unlike some of his contemporaries, and was truly a genius who was ahead of his time.
October 30, 2019
"The Current War," the new movie with Benedict Cumberbatch, doesn't do Nikola Tesla justice. This book does, and it's about time. Tesla lived a fascinating life and gave us the technologies that support our modern economy. Very well written biography. Richard Munson's careful research makes the book both rich and fascinating
November 1, 2019
This book is so much better than "The Current War." That movie barely gives any credit to Nikola Tesla who actually won the current war. This book reads well but has lots of information. It reveals Tesla the individual as well as the inventor. It also offers great perspectives on history in the late nineteen and early twentieth centuries. By far the best Tesla biography. Recommend highly.
June 22, 2025
Прекрасна биография, наистина си заслужава четенето! /Въпреки леко немарливия български превод!/ Вярвам, че ще се хареса както на хората, които живо се интересуват от физика и електричество, така и на тези, които искат да опознаят самата личност Никола Тесла. Толкова интересни неща научих! Особено голямо впечатление ми направи фактът, че Ричард Мънсън се стреми към максимална обективност и изчерпаемост, без излишно идеализиране.Тесла, представен такъв, какъвто е бил. Всички негови значими житейски събития са съпроводени от критични, здравомислещи и адекватни коментари, които не се осланят на конспиративни теории или сладникави романтични историйки. И въпреки всички отправени критики, на Никола Тесла е отдадено така заслуженото признание, достойно за един възвишен гений, изобретател и...мечтател.
,,Човекът на науката не търси незабавен резултат. Не очаква, че напредничавите му идеи веднага ще бъдат подети. Работата му е като тази на градинаря, който засажда растения - за бъдещето. Неговият дълг е да сложи основата за онези, които ще дойдат след него, и да посочи пътя."
,,Нека бъдещето покаже истината и издигне единия според работата и постиженията му. Настоящето е тяхно, бъдещето, за което всъщност работих аз, е мое."
,,Ако имаме предвид човека, който наистина е изобретявал, с други думи, създавал е и е откривал, а не просто подобрявал вече изработеното от другите, то тогава без капка съмнение Никола Тесла е най-великият изобретател в света, не само в настоящето, но и в цялата човешка история."
,,Човекът на науката не търси незабавен резултат. Не очаква, че напредничавите му идеи веднага ще бъдат подети. Работата му е като тази на градинаря, който засажда растения - за бъдещето. Неговият дълг е да сложи основата за онези, които ще дойдат след него, и да посочи пътя."
,,Нека бъдещето покаже истината и издигне единия според работата и постиженията му. Настоящето е тяхно, бъдещето, за което всъщност работих аз, е мое."
,,Ако имаме предвид човека, който наистина е изобретявал, с други думи, създавал е и е откривал, а не просто подобрявал вече изработеното от другите, то тогава без капка съмнение Никола Тесла е най-великият изобретател в света, не само в настоящето, но и в цялата човешка история."
July 13, 2018
I have been wanting to read a biography of Tesla for a while, so I checked this one out of the library. I admired the author's evenhandedness. He lauded Tesla's inventiveness, while shying away from the things that made him problematic. Edison and Westinghouse figure so prominently in Tesla's life, I wonder how prominently he figured in theirs? I was somewhat dismayed to find that I missed by 100 years, and several social classes, a chance to attend a dinner party with John Muir, Samuel Clemens, and Tesla.
June 3, 2018
What a treat! Finally a readable, enjoyable, and insightful book about Nikola Tesla, the great inventor who usually doesn't obtain the respect he deserves. Munson offers a fast-paced and fluid portrait of the remarkable scientist, but he also explains Tesla's history and highlights his human side. A wonderful read.
November 4, 2019
By far, this is the best Tesla biography out there. It is a great addition to the new movie, "The Current War," and gives Nikola Tesla his due for being the great inventor who actually won the AC-DC battle. This book is well written, well researched, and nicely balanced. I've read a lot about Tesla and this period of history, but this book provides new and interesting insights.
June 5, 2018
Fascinating character. Engaging biography. Well written Insightful stories.
November 5, 2019
Wonderful portrait of a remarkable man and inventor. Riveting stories. Clear insights into the history of science in the early 20th and late 19th centuries.
November 8, 2019
Best biography and history book I've read this year. Nikola Tesla is one fascinating, and important, person, and this book brings him alive. Very well written.
December 4, 2020
I enjoyed this one. Author Richard Munson is a Chicago based senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund. He's been senior vice president of Recycled Energy Development, executive director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, director of Solar Lobby and Center for Renewable Resources, co-coordinator of Sun Day, coordinator of Environmental Action Foundation, and director of the University of Michigan's Pilot Program, according to his page here.
Richard Munson :
Tesla: Inventor of the Modern is no-frills, matter-of-fact telling of the life of Nikola Tesla. The book covers Tesla's early life in Serbia, then moves forward in a chronological fashion.
Many of the pivotal inventions and events of Tesla's life are covered here. Among them:
*The war of the currents; Tesla and Thomas Edison.
*The invention of the induction motor.
*Wardenclyffe Tower.
*Tesla's personal life: The author hints that the famously celibate Tesla may have been homosexual.
*A theorized "Death Ray" weapon.
*The many conspiracy theories that materialized after his death.
This was a decent telling of the life of this prodigious inventor. The book is presented in a straightforwardly readable fashion, and is not overly technical. The book also has a really well-written epilogue, where Munson writes this of Tesla's life and legacy:
Tesla: Inventor of the Modern was a well researched, written, edited and delivered book that I would recommend to anyone interested.
4.5 stars.
Richard Munson :
Tesla: Inventor of the Modern is no-frills, matter-of-fact telling of the life of Nikola Tesla. The book covers Tesla's early life in Serbia, then moves forward in a chronological fashion.
Many of the pivotal inventions and events of Tesla's life are covered here. Among them:
*The war of the currents; Tesla and Thomas Edison.
*The invention of the induction motor.
*Wardenclyffe Tower.
*Tesla's personal life: The author hints that the famously celibate Tesla may have been homosexual.
*A theorized "Death Ray" weapon.
*The many conspiracy theories that materialized after his death.
This was a decent telling of the life of this prodigious inventor. The book is presented in a straightforwardly readable fashion, and is not overly technical. The book also has a really well-written epilogue, where Munson writes this of Tesla's life and legacy:
"...That theme of being a man ahead of his time appeared again and again in the tributes. Tesla indeed had lived in flux. He was born during a lightning storm at the stroke of midnight, between today and tomorrow. He was raised a Serb into an Orthodox family in a region dominated by Croats and Roman Catholics. His father instilled religion while Tesla embraced science. This inventor craved isolation but could be a master showman. He enjoyed lavish living but walked away from lucrative contracts. He won the “War of the Currents” but died almost penniless and feeding pigeons. Tesla was one paradox after another.
Maybe we all are, but Tesla’s personality seemed based on paradox. One science writer concluded, “He was so far ahead of his contemporaries that his patents often expired before they could be put to practical use.”112
Another calculated that Tesla made at least five outstanding scientific discoveries—cosmic rays, artificial radioactivity, disintegrating beam of electrified particles, electron microscope, and X-rays—that others “rediscovered” up to forty years later and for which they then won Nobel Prizes.113
Speaking of Tesla’s visionary work, Major General J. O. Mauborgne, former chief signal officer for the U.S. Army, stated: “Those of us who grew up with the early wireless art and are familiar with his researches and contributions to science revere his memory as the greatest genius in the early wireless field.
He was so far ahead of his day in the concept of the transmission of intelligence through space that the world never fully realized that Tesla was the real inventor of wireless transmission and reception as well as many other wonderful developments.”
Tesla: Inventor of the Modern was a well researched, written, edited and delivered book that I would recommend to anyone interested.
4.5 stars.
November 26, 2021
In an attempt to read the many books I carry in my gift shop, I picked up this read on Tesla (he lived/experimented in Colorado Springs for a time). This isn't my first biography on Tesla but this one is definitely more recent. Nikola Tesla was a genius and quite the oddball which would lead to bad business deals and being hidden behind the likes of people like Thomas Edison. This book goes into decent detail of his life and his relationships with people. I wasn't as big of a fan of the epilogue which sounded more like a Wikipedia page than anything. Worth the read if you're looking for more information on Nikola Tesla and all he did!
September 3, 2019
Thank you Richard Munson for bringing Tesla to the reader with the incredible passion and excitement that dripped from every page. Munson managed to create sensationalism without sacrificing facts. From the first page, Munson made clear that his intention was to separate fact from myth. In doing so he set the record straight about the accolades attributed of Edison and Marconi that should really be attributed to Tesla. For example, Tesla's engines run our motors and our factories yet Thomas Edison gets the credit for it (unless the company owner is Elon Musk, who gives Tesla his due.), and Marconi received credit for inventing the radio yet a court ruled that Tesla's pattens first describe a system for transmitting wireless signals across long distances. Munson is not merely interested in busting those myths however. He is merciless when it comes to how Tesla might have created his own myths that turned out to be exaggerations. The resulting biography, with one exception I will address in a moment, is one that provides a truly in depth portrait of one of the most important humans to ever make his mark on this world. If you like Tesla (my like for Tesla borders on obsession), then you will find this book addictively readable.
The one problem I have with Munson's narrative is that he wrote so little of Tesla's fantasy world. Tesla himself wrote of his imaginary friends, who were as real to him as if they were flesh and blood. Yet, Munson seemed so out of touch with Tesla's fantasy world, that he failed to understand that Tesla might not have needed real world lovers because the people living with him, in his home, were as real to him as if they took up the physical space that he did. Munson seems fairly sure Tesla was gay. for all we know Tesla might have been, but Munson's reasoning for such a claim is questionable and lacks a true understanding of the way Tesla related to the world and even related to his own brain. Even though I found his lack of understanding disappointing, I enjoyed the hell out of this book.
The reader will of course be treated to the saga that plays out like A Wonderful Life in which Edison and J.P. Morgan take on the aspects of evil Mr. Potter and George Westinghouse and Tesla represent the George Baileys of the world. Beyond that well told tale, Munson brings alive the magic of each Tesla invention and infuses it with the drive and joy Tesla felt during and while showing off his creation. For example:
During a contest in which participants used remote controls to sail their boats, all of the other engineers devised rudimentary wireless systems that transmitted in only one frequency. Tesla, on the other hand, figured out a way to take advantage of the fact that the boat could receive electro magnetic signals from a transmitter. Tesla developed an extraordinary disk that could distinguish among multiple signals and direct the boat to flash its lights, rotate the rudder, as well as engage the propeller. The mechanism, according to Munson, is “among the most sophisticated of teslas inventions.“ Ever the showman, while whirling his boat around the pond, Tesla had an audience member ask what the cube root of 64 was. He had the lights flicker four times. It was like magic to all who witnessed it. Observers were certain that the boat moved by magic and some even suggested it had a tiny monkey driving it from inside. When reading about this, it's impossible not to feel, truly feel, Tesla's pure delight at seeing the awe on everyone's face.
Mark Twain is likely the first person to have received an x-ray. Initially Tesla had not realized the implications of a film left on tubes on which he had been working. If he had looked closer or gave it more thought, he would have discovered x-rays. Someone else beat him to the punch, but as soon as he realized his mistake, he jumped into action and became obsessed with creating x-ray technology. He was hanging out with Twain, after curing him of constipation (using electricity to do it of course), and decided to use Twain as a guinea pig for his new x-ray device that could see bones under the skin.
Using Niagara Falls to generate electricity (a lifelong dream of Tesla's).
(My favorite) When Tesla invented his alternating current coils, the Tesla coil, it created a bright light inside the tubes that encased the coils. He kept his invention secret and sent his lab assistants out to lunch. When they returned, he was holding two blowing tubes and waving them around like swords. IMO, Tesla was the inventor of the light saber!
There are so many tales like this throughout the book. I could read 100 books on Tesla and never get tired of reading about his beautiful brain and all the inventions that resulted.
The one problem I have with Munson's narrative is that he wrote so little of Tesla's fantasy world. Tesla himself wrote of his imaginary friends, who were as real to him as if they were flesh and blood. Yet, Munson seemed so out of touch with Tesla's fantasy world, that he failed to understand that Tesla might not have needed real world lovers because the people living with him, in his home, were as real to him as if they took up the physical space that he did. Munson seems fairly sure Tesla was gay. for all we know Tesla might have been, but Munson's reasoning for such a claim is questionable and lacks a true understanding of the way Tesla related to the world and even related to his own brain. Even though I found his lack of understanding disappointing, I enjoyed the hell out of this book.
The reader will of course be treated to the saga that plays out like A Wonderful Life in which Edison and J.P. Morgan take on the aspects of evil Mr. Potter and George Westinghouse and Tesla represent the George Baileys of the world. Beyond that well told tale, Munson brings alive the magic of each Tesla invention and infuses it with the drive and joy Tesla felt during and while showing off his creation. For example:
During a contest in which participants used remote controls to sail their boats, all of the other engineers devised rudimentary wireless systems that transmitted in only one frequency. Tesla, on the other hand, figured out a way to take advantage of the fact that the boat could receive electro magnetic signals from a transmitter. Tesla developed an extraordinary disk that could distinguish among multiple signals and direct the boat to flash its lights, rotate the rudder, as well as engage the propeller. The mechanism, according to Munson, is “among the most sophisticated of teslas inventions.“ Ever the showman, while whirling his boat around the pond, Tesla had an audience member ask what the cube root of 64 was. He had the lights flicker four times. It was like magic to all who witnessed it. Observers were certain that the boat moved by magic and some even suggested it had a tiny monkey driving it from inside. When reading about this, it's impossible not to feel, truly feel, Tesla's pure delight at seeing the awe on everyone's face.
Mark Twain is likely the first person to have received an x-ray. Initially Tesla had not realized the implications of a film left on tubes on which he had been working. If he had looked closer or gave it more thought, he would have discovered x-rays. Someone else beat him to the punch, but as soon as he realized his mistake, he jumped into action and became obsessed with creating x-ray technology. He was hanging out with Twain, after curing him of constipation (using electricity to do it of course), and decided to use Twain as a guinea pig for his new x-ray device that could see bones under the skin.
Using Niagara Falls to generate electricity (a lifelong dream of Tesla's).
(My favorite) When Tesla invented his alternating current coils, the Tesla coil, it created a bright light inside the tubes that encased the coils. He kept his invention secret and sent his lab assistants out to lunch. When they returned, he was holding two blowing tubes and waving them around like swords. IMO, Tesla was the inventor of the light saber!
There are so many tales like this throughout the book. I could read 100 books on Tesla and never get tired of reading about his beautiful brain and all the inventions that resulted.
September 5, 2018
A fascinating read and accessible as critics have mentioned, shedding light on a man who was like the Wizard of Oz - both showman and hidden.
This is a very interesting biography of the mysterious Nikola Tesla. A lot of the time when Tesla is mentioned he's shrouded in mystery and the supernatural, but this biography shows he was also more than human too.
So much of what we see today in electrical feats all started with inventions from Tesla, but with unfair business deals, patent disputes, and a mind beyond his times, Tesla ultimately relied on others his whole life to help him stay afloat.
With talk of supernatural elements (from visions he claimed he had - he said he could see the process of his inventions in his mind and didn't need to write them down, and he also said he saw his mother right before she died in spirit form - to predictions -he claims he had a dream of a train crash and asked his visitors to stay out of fear of it and the train did indeed crash, saving his guests) Tesla cemented his place in mystical lore.
But with the fascinating comes the human side: his fear of germs (it could be debilitating), his too trusting nature (he was not a ruthless businessman), his biases (sad, but true), his melancholy, and his OCD (everything had to be divisible by three from hotel floors to orders).
He was also sometimes lonely even with fiercely loyal friendships that were equally loyal back. In his life, Tesla never married - he had close relationships with men, none can be verified beyond platonic, and with women, while Tesla expressed interest in some as more than friends, it's unverified also whether he seriously pursued them or the matches went amiss somehow. Made clear though in his journals, Tesla was aching for companionship and did wonder openly whether his pursuit of science interfered in his relationships and the possibility of any marriage.
With lots of journal entries from the man himself, Munson gets us closer to this enigma than ever before. His experiments are equally presented with the mystery that was his life. From the beginning, reportedly being born in a thunderstorm at midnight, it was never destined to be a "normal" life.
The language in the book is clear and to the point and with a lot of history covered in just over 200 pages. Regular readers will get a clearer understanding of the main subject and fans of Tesla will get another look into his mysterious life. With epilogue.
This is a very interesting biography of the mysterious Nikola Tesla. A lot of the time when Tesla is mentioned he's shrouded in mystery and the supernatural, but this biography shows he was also more than human too.
So much of what we see today in electrical feats all started with inventions from Tesla, but with unfair business deals, patent disputes, and a mind beyond his times, Tesla ultimately relied on others his whole life to help him stay afloat.
With talk of supernatural elements (from visions he claimed he had - he said he could see the process of his inventions in his mind and didn't need to write them down, and he also said he saw his mother right before she died in spirit form - to predictions -he claims he had a dream of a train crash and asked his visitors to stay out of fear of it and the train did indeed crash, saving his guests) Tesla cemented his place in mystical lore.
But with the fascinating comes the human side: his fear of germs (it could be debilitating), his too trusting nature (he was not a ruthless businessman), his biases (sad, but true), his melancholy, and his OCD (everything had to be divisible by three from hotel floors to orders).
He was also sometimes lonely even with fiercely loyal friendships that were equally loyal back. In his life, Tesla never married - he had close relationships with men, none can be verified beyond platonic, and with women, while Tesla expressed interest in some as more than friends, it's unverified also whether he seriously pursued them or the matches went amiss somehow. Made clear though in his journals, Tesla was aching for companionship and did wonder openly whether his pursuit of science interfered in his relationships and the possibility of any marriage.
With lots of journal entries from the man himself, Munson gets us closer to this enigma than ever before. His experiments are equally presented with the mystery that was his life. From the beginning, reportedly being born in a thunderstorm at midnight, it was never destined to be a "normal" life.
The language in the book is clear and to the point and with a lot of history covered in just over 200 pages. Regular readers will get a clearer understanding of the main subject and fans of Tesla will get another look into his mysterious life. With epilogue.
November 7, 2019
Really well done biography of a fascinating individual and inventor.
November 30, 2019
We all know about Elon Musk's electric car called Tesla, we may know about this inventor through some Hollywood movies, but this book was definitely eye-opening to me. Without his inventions who knows what our current world would truly look like? Maybe a lot as the punk-steam culture depicts.
He was certainly way ahead of his own time and the saddest part is that he lacked a person next to him to take care of the financial part of his life - he might have accomplished so much more had there been not some silly behavioural situations that caused his own downfall. This part was rather sad to listen to, with him being one of the brightest minds of our recent history.
Definitely a book I recommend to everybody.
He was certainly way ahead of his own time and the saddest part is that he lacked a person next to him to take care of the financial part of his life - he might have accomplished so much more had there been not some silly behavioural situations that caused his own downfall. This part was rather sad to listen to, with him being one of the brightest minds of our recent history.
Definitely a book I recommend to everybody.
August 3, 2020
Well written, and worth reading if you don't really have much of an idea about Teslas life. I personally was a bit clueless knowing the name and some basics, so this book gave me a lot of new info. I especially found it fascinating to see the beginning of research into electricity and how patenting worked back then.
June 7, 2018
Great biography of an extraordinary inventor. This book explains Tesla's achievements but also describes his upbringing and relationships. Well researched and written.
April 22, 2019
Incredibly fascinating.
October 20, 2019
Wonderful biography, a real page turner. Tesla was a great inventor, giving us the electric motor, radio, and remote control. He lived an eventful life, which Munson reveals convincingly.
August 6, 2019
A balanced careful look at the life of Tesla and his influence on the development of technology itself. The author works hard at carefully giving Tesla credit for his accomplishments while making sure that the inventor is shorn of his semi-mythical status.
February 18, 2020
Una biografía del inventor mas importante del siglo XX, su forma de pensar era increíblemente única y que su vida no fue para nada perfecta pero dejo una huella imprescindible en el planeta tierra y en esta era.
May 10, 2019
This is the first book I have ever read about Nikolai Tesla. I had no idea that he was the inventor of so many critical things. A brilliant, but strange guy.
March 24, 2022
This was really interesting! One of the best biographies I've read.
February 6, 2020
Fascinating history of Nicola Tesla. Chronicles his relationships with Twain, Edison, Westinghouse and other less famous names from his birth in Serbia to his senior years in a series of New York hotels.
May 14, 2024
Loved this book. Have long been fascinated by what little I knew of Tesla, and wanted very much to learn more. This was a great book for that. It seems very comprehensive and fairly balanced. Highly recommend. I came away loving Tesla even more.
April 24, 2020
La muy interesante y a la vez triste historia del la mente brillante que nos dio la tecnología para el mundo moderno
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