Wizard

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

By: Marc J. Seifer

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 22 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1996 Marc J. Seifer (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Seifer's vivid, revelatory, exhaustively researched biography rescues pioneer inventor Nikola Tesla from cult status and restores him to his rightful place as a principal architect of the modern age." ( Publishers Weekly)

Makes no distinction between genuine inventions and crackpot schemes

Seifer treats all of Tesla's work as products of genius. A more discriminating approach would have yielded a more nuanced and interesting picture of this intriguing man. As it is, the listeners must sort for themselves between true inventions like the polyphase alternating current motor, and crackpot schemes like death rays. Worst of all, some unquestioning listeners may take it all as literal truth.

Good research, poor writing.

Someday, someone will write a brilliant book about Tesla. This isn't it.

Writing is all about choices about what, and what not, to include, and I'm not sure Seifer made any. He tells readers the 1890 address of a building that had since moved, so that if readers should ever be transported back in time, they will know how to find it. He mentions a book in passing and can't help but mention who edited it. I often wondered if there could be any information I would be less interested in knowing.

His subject matter is so intrinsically interesting that it is almost worth the slog. Can you believe Tesla would put on demonstrations showing scientists multiple new technologies, and that he would send electricity through his body so he could shoot fire out his fingertips? The author, unfortunately, often skips the human story of discovery or the motivations for Tesla's rivalries, and goes straight for all the maddening details. Walter Isaacson should take this book as source material and write something good.

I thought I could make it through but I had to jump ship when Seifer refers to woman gushing with hormones just because she walked near Tesla. He never embellishes the facts when discussing men, but for women, he pretends he's writing fiction. Bad fiction.

Fascinating account of the life of a genius

This is a historical account of Nicola Tesla's life. The book is a must for anyone wishing to know the history behind all the modern necessities of life we take for granted every day.

Very thorough biography of Tesla

I liked the book very much. This is how all biographies should be written. The book provides uninterrupted statements made by the Tesla sometimes offering more details behind them.
It is very valuable since it leaves to the reader the final judgement of Tesla's theories and statements what offers fairly unobstructed view of the wizard's mind. I even wish more materials and documents were presented in the book, it probably barely skims many topics of Tesla's interests and other achievements.
It war really extraordinary man.

Very in-depth and made me walk away feeling like I actually had met Tesla.

When read aloud, it sometimes gets confusing as to if the reader was stating observations by Tesla or observations by the writer.

Tesla was a hundred years ahead of his time

Simon Prebble did a great job narrating the story. The book goes into more depth surrounding the times of Tesla. It gives an overview history of Serbia and surrounding countries. In covering the education of Tesla the author also introduces the reader to the professors that influenced him. Marc Seifer also covers in depth the interaction between Edison, Bell, Westinghouse and investors such as J.P. Morgan, John Aster, Stanford White and others. Tesla health, habits and mental health are covered. Seifer goes into depth covering the wide array of invention of Tesla and many are just becoming a factor in our daily life. It was also interesting to note that there are many more invention that the department of defense placed under a blanket of national security and no information is available on these inventions. This book has only made me want to know more about Tesla and his fellow engineers of the 1890s.

Difficult genius

Nikola Tessla was a genius. His inventions, including the ac motor, radio, microwave and many more changed civilization forever. However, he was also a difficult madman at times.
For instance, J.P. Morgan gave him $120,000 dollars for a specific project- to make a telegraph to send the Yachting news to his offshore boat. Instead, he took the money to go to Colorado to construct a radio tower. He antagonized Mr. Morgan, forever. Mr. Morgan proceeded to block all of his future endeavors. Because of his exasperating personality he became largely lost to history until Elan Musk named his car after him. Great read.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Tesla

This book intends to be the definitive work on the life of Nikola Tesla, and it undoubtedly succeeds. I'm glad I learned about the man through this book, although the storytelling is disjointed, since it's told in an unusual kind of non-chronological order. The overall telling is chronological, but the author jumps back and forth in time without being clear that he's doing it. It would have been simple to let the reader know that background material was being provided, but usually he just launches into the backstory without any cues. It can be quite confusing.
Another odd aspect of the book is the exhaustive detail that's given to ancillary characters, such as those that Tesla was trying to court as investors, even though they never actually became involved in his business ventures.
One significantly disappointing part of the book is its vagueness regarding the Supreme Court decision that upheld the precedence of some of Tesla's radio-transmission patents. There are countless references to the decision, as well as several courtroom vignettes, but no very clear specifics on what was actually decided.
On the up side, I loved the detail regarding Tesla's famous, never-completed tower, which he constructed with funds misappropriated from J. P. Morgan. It's a sad thing for all of us that he never got the chance to fire that sucker up!

Prefer Audiobook than Reading the Book

Well researched biography of Nikola Tesla. I was rather bored and overwhelmed with his technical achievements (which I am sure the engineering listeners/readers would appreciate it greatly), but I think the narrator did his best in reading the book. I think I wouldn't be able to finish the book without the audiobook.

Too long and not enough science

Would you try another book from Marc J. Seifer and/or Simon Prebble?

No, not based upon this book. It seemed too much of the research/story was based upon bank records and personal communication to or from Tesla. There was enough there to keep going back to but I did not look forward to doing so.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More details of the science behind his inventions and more details of the inventions.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was fine.

Did Wizard inspire you to do anything?

Get more done in the limited lifetime we are given.

Any additional comments?

The book was ok, but the story was a bit long and dreary. Hearing about Teslas long struggle with poverty, legal battles and deranged life did not make for happy or compelling listening. I would have liked more details on the science and the inventions with less emphasis on the money management, personal communications and legal dramas Tesla had to deal with.