The worst read for me was something called The Missing Tesla Papers where within a few pages the author confesses that there are no missing papers by Tesla to be had and gives a description of how everything Tesla was seized and classified, something to do with a cousin who was thought to be a spy, among other things.
Many books about Nikola Tesla give him credit for things he didn’t actually do or the page is vague inferring stuff that is simply conjecture. For these authors, Jerry Decker coined it best, as, joining the Tesla Church, where the man of miracles could do no wrong, but despite these diatribic ramblings that give the man credit for things he might never have done, Tesla had to give up his place in history and is mostly unknown today due to the likes of JP Morgan who pulled his support when discovering that the mad scientist wanted to deliver free energy to the world at a time when Edison and Westinghouse were already charging a monthly rate for electricity. Timing. If Nikola had thought of that when he created the first electric grid for America….but he was known to be no man’s best administrator.
This is subjective but my best read of Nikola Tesla is My Inventions by Nikola Tesla, in his own words. You learn about the man from his own writings.
The next best read is that of an elementary teacher who saw that Tesla was being overlooked and pushed to the background of Edison and other American greats:
Although My Inventions is a small book by Nikola Tesla, there are volumes on the subject of the “Man Who Invented Tomorrow”, actually I think that’s a paraphrase of a book title.
For me, the best thing about reading of Nikola Tesla is that it’s spiritually uplifting in an old fashioned and forgotten way, that still points the way to a bright future despite our obstacles.
2 comments ↓
I will be sure to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
I couldn’t agree more. He was way out into his own understanding….which happened to surpass everybody else’s, no matter what jargon he used to explain it. That made some people mad of course.
I think he may have been a bit naive in assuming the businessman that paid his way for some of his operations would also like to back free energy. That’s where street smarts helps you out a bit.
The legacy of Tesla is not one of large coils and AC power and death rays (even though it is possible). The true legacy of Tesla is in his drive to make energy free and usable for all. Nothing else compares to how this would have affected the world if it had been a successful release to the public. He has even said if I am not mistaken that he sort of viewed AC power as a failure because it was not his true goal. Imagine that, his 2nd rate ideas still power our devices today…. no wonder they wanted to destroy his 1st one.
Edison is a fool that could not stand the competition and was only so happy to be the one getting the glory. Tesla gets reduced to 2 pages in a history book….involving coils no doubt and the wild sparks.
To me, Tesla’s life was important because it showed what one man could do when he honestly wanted to understand his universe. Forget everybody else’s rules and jargon, he made his own.