Wizard
by Marc Seifer · first published 1996
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Comprehensive, enjoyable biography of Nikola Tesla that covers his personality, his work and the people around him; readers find it a good starting point for learning about the man.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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My late-night reading currently consists of the book "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla; Biography of a Genius" by Marc J. Seifer. For anyone looking to learn more about the man, this seems to be the most comprehensive biography available. While only half through it so far, it's been an…
on “The Tesla Valve: One Way Flow With No Moving Parts” ↗I highly recommend Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla : Biography of a Genius. http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Nikola-Biography-Genius-Citadel...
on “Tesla Museum Gets Funded” ↗Best Tesla reading I've found is Mark Seifer's book "Wizard, the Life and Times of Nikola Tesla". The audio book is excellent as well. Gives great insight into Tesla's personality and many events in history and the people around him.
on “Nikola Tesla Wasn't God And Thomas Edison Wasn't The Devil” ↗…Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by John Gertner: A great book about the history of Bell Labs, the scientists and engineers that brought great innovations to society including phones * Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla by Marc Seifer: A biography of Nikola Tesla. Its quite astounding how much one person can achieve in their lifetime
on “Ask HN: What book should I read next?” ↗…find it sad that if you want to visit a Tesla museum you'd have to book a ticket to Serbia, even though the majority of his work was done here in the U.S., and he spent the majority of his life here. "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla" was a fascinating read.
on “Let's build a Tesla museum (The Oatmeal initiative)” ↗…distill what they perceive as common characteristics of "succesful" people/businesses. Currently I'm reading "The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation" and its quite wonderful. "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla" is a good read as well.
on “Founder Books” ↗I’ll put in a vote for Wizard: the life and times of Nikola Tesla. I knew very little other than “Tesla == weird genius”, and the book gave me a much deeper view of his work, from trying to run power through the ground to building drone boats.
on “Ask HN: Where can I learn about Nikola Tesla?” ↗…Also, getting a valve that can close and open with high frequency is not always easy. The valvular conduit that Tesla designed was his solution to this problem. Thanks for the book reference. I read "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla" But I hadn't seen this other book. I might pick it up.
My late-night reading currently consists of the book "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla I'd recommend "The Prestige" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/ which has a fascinating portrayal of Tesla as a kind of mad techno Wizard (played by David Bowie of all people).
on “The Tesla Valve: One Way Flow With No Moving Parts” ↗