“Instinct,” Tesla later observed, “is something which transcends knowledge.”
Nikola Tesla is sometimes thought of as one of the greatest inventors who ever lived. His story starts in a village in modern-day Croatia. His childhood was not easy after his brother passed away and there were many expectations of what he should do for a job. Sickness brought him the opportunity for his father to open up to other careers and Tesla made his way out of his country and eventually to New York. While many biographies of Tesla have been written, this one goes through his life chronologically by focusing on his ideas and inventions.
I have wanted to read a book about Tesla for a long time and saw this one was available from my library. I started to get interested after reading about Edison and Westinghouse in The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore. That time period fascinates me – so much changed so fast for society with all the new inventions.
Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age is a very detailed book. The science behind Tesla’s inventions is discussed. It wasn’t a biography that reads like fiction, but it was interesting to see how Tesla moved from one invention to the next. It would be an intriguing book for people who have a good grasp on science, electricity and physics. I did learn a lot about who Tesla was, how he interacted with people and how he went about getting his ideas for his inventions.
I would recommend this book to people who are researching Tesla or want to read a very detailed, scientific biography about him. It is not a light read. The author also makes suggestions about Tesla’s personal life based on possibilities, but not facts. I will be looking for a less technical biography of Tesla to read at a future date.