Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius

I just finished reading this enthralling book on N. Tesla and find that it is the finest piece of non-fiction I have ever read, without exaggeration. The thoroughness with which Seifer presents Tesla is unparalleled and the amount of detail included is just enough without going overboard. I am immensely satisfied with my experience in reading this book.Tesla stands with the giants of all time in science, yet due to his unique personality and self-effacing philosophy acted not in his personal interest for wealth and fame, but out of the best interest of all mankind. He was not honored for this philosophy in an era of cut throat capitalism and industrial expansion NOR is he honored in any manner worthy to his contributions to this day.Providing electricity virtually free to the entire planet wasn't on the menu back then nor is it in these "technologically advanced" times. People need to read this book to understand that there is no "energy crisis" on this planet, only a crisis of will, greed, and hubris.His primary work was stolen, copied, and bungled brazenly by some of the greatest inventors of all time such as Thomas Edison and Marconi. The pure inventor lost credit for changing the world to the crass commercialists. This book clearly documents this sad reality. It does more than that though. This is a triumphant story as well. Tesla was a hundred years ahead of his time so his era is now.This book has given me an entirely different perspective on life, technology, and the value in knowing the truth. I no longer feel as though we live in a technologically advanced era. I think that the technology which excites the mind and inspires us as the greater human race is sorely missing that greatest inventor of all time.

This book is assiduously researched and footnoted. The author has evidently reviewed everything Tesla ever wrote, plus everything that's been written about him. The organization of the book could form a bit more of a natural progression (i found the chronology hard to follow at times). The descriptions of the various characters (Edison, Westinghouse et al) are lively and entertaining. The book does risk being a bit of a hagiography, but the author does his subject quite well overall.

I am the attorney in the family, my brother is the electrical engineer. I must admit I didn't understand all of the technical jargon. At first I felt the book dragged a little because of all the history and what was going on during Tesla's life, but I think it was necessary to show how Tesla was being thwarted and by whom.I found the book well written. I appreciate all the footnotes, for further investigating of facts.The only part I didn't care for is the authors analysis of Tesla, ie he must be a latent homosexual because he had to kiss his dead brother and never married. I thought that was reaching.It is a lot to take in and a lot of reading. I think the author did a phenomenal job of researching Tesla and writing about his life. I think everyone will get something different out of this book.

This is a biography of Nicola Tesla, the late 19th, early 20th century inventor, widely credited with invention of the multi-phase alternating current motor, among many other things. He is perhaps best known for his sometimes contentious rivalry with the far more celebrated contemporary, Thomas Edison. In fact, Edison who invented the mono-filament light bulb, was a champion of utilizing direct current electricity. Tesla certainly won that round.This biography follows the life of Tesla in a purely chronological manner, from his birth in Eastern Europe through his ultimate death, eighty-six years later in the United States. It touches upon many of his revolutionary ideas, along with sometimes fascinating interaction with the preeminent scientists and theoreticians of the era. Harnessing electricity and radio waves were revolutionary pursuits, undertaken by many of brightest minds of Tesla’s generation.Patents flew fast and furious and lawsuits filled the courthouses with contesting claims of priority. Tesla has become almost a mythical figure, as one whose ideas were behind many of the most groundbreaking discoveries of the era, yet failing to achieve recognition or reward, in comparison to others such as Edison and Marconi. Much of this was his fault, due to poor business decisions and an inability or refusal to translate most of his theories and inventions into practical application.The book itself contains quite a bit of very enlightening personal and historical information regarding Tesla and his contemporaries, and while it frequently ventures into the realm of hagiography, not excessively so in comparison with most biographies. My biggest complaint lies in the amount of technical information provided to the readers. Given the fact that probably less than 0.1% of readers are electrical engineers, I found the level of technical specificity to be somewhat excessive. Also, the author provides frequent quack psychological analysis that is in no way helpful.From the standpoint of biographies, this is pretty much a second-rate effort when compared to many others I have read. David McCollough would have done a much better job.

Interesting biography of a man that I thought was merely a brilliant, but unfortunately largely unrecognized inventor. This book gave me a new perspective on the man.