Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource Tesla : inventor of the electrical age, W. Bernard Carlson

Tesla : inventor of the electrical age, W. Bernard Carlson

Creator
Summary
  • "Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the twentieth century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius. Even at the end of his life when he was living in poverty, Tesla still attracted reporters to his annual birthday interview, regaling them with claims that he had invented a particle-beam weapon capable of bringing down enemy aircraft. Plenty of biographies glamorize Tesla and his eccentricities, but until now none has carefully examined what, how, and why he invented. In this groundbreaking book, W. Bernard Carlson demystifies the legendary inventor, placing him within the cultural and technological context of his time, and focusing on his inventions themselves as well as the creation and maintenance of his celebrity. Drawing on original documents from Tesla's private and public life, Carlson shows how he was an "idealist" inventor who sought the perfect experimental realization of a great idea or principle, and who skillfully sold his inventions to the public through mythmaking and illusion. This major biography sheds new light on Tesla's visionary approach to invention and the business strategies behind his most important technological breakthroughs."--Jacket
  • "This is a biography of one of the major 20th-century scientists, Nikola Tesla. It is interdisciplinary, containing accounts of U.S. manufacturing in the early 1900s and other contemporary cultural materials"--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xiii, 500 pages
Contents
  • A veritable magician (1891)
  • Taking the show to Europe (1891-1892)
  • Pushing alternating current in America (1892-1893)
  • Wireless lighting and the oscillator (1893-1894)
  • Efforts at promotion (1894-1895)
  • Looking for alternatives (1895-1898)
  • Stationary waves (1899-1900)
  • Wardenclyffe (1900-1901)
  • The dark tower (1901-1905)
  • Visionary to the end (1905-1943)
  • Introduction.
  • Epilogue
  • Dinner at Delmonico's
  • An ideal childhood (1856-1878)
  • Dreaming of motors (1878-1882)
  • Learning by doing (1882-1886)
  • Mastering alternating current (1886-1888)
  • Selling the motor (1888-1889)
  • Searching for a new ideal (1889-1891)
Isbn
9780691165615
Link
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9941.pdf
Instance
Label
Tesla : inventor of the electrical age
Title
Tesla
Title remainder
inventor of the electrical age
Statement of responsibility
W. Bernard Carlson
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • "Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the twentieth century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius. Even at the end of his life when he was living in poverty, Tesla still attracted reporters to his annual birthday interview, regaling them with claims that he had invented a particle-beam weapon capable of bringing down enemy aircraft. Plenty of biographies glamorize Tesla and his eccentricities, but until now none has carefully examined what, how, and why he invented. In this groundbreaking book, W. Bernard Carlson demystifies the legendary inventor, placing him within the cultural and technological context of his time, and focusing on his inventions themselves as well as the creation and maintenance of his celebrity. Drawing on original documents from Tesla's private and public life, Carlson shows how he was an "idealist" inventor who sought the perfect experimental realization of a great idea or principle, and who skillfully sold his inventions to the public through mythmaking and illusion. This major biography sheds new light on Tesla's visionary approach to invention and the business strategies behind his most important technological breakthroughs."--Jacket
  • "This is a biography of one of the major 20th-century scientists, Nikola Tesla. It is interdisciplinary, containing accounts of U.S. manufacturing in the early 1900s and other contemporary cultural materials"--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Carlson, W. Bernard
Dewey number
  • 621.3092
  • B
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
TK140.T4
LC item number
C37 2013
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Tesla, Nikola
  • Electrical engineers
  • Inventors
  • BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
  • SCIENCE
  • SCIENCE
  • Tesla, Nikola
  • Electrical engineers
  • Inventors
  • United States
Label
Tesla : inventor of the electrical age, W. Bernard Carlson
Link
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9941.pdf
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-471) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
  • A veritable magician (1891)
  • Taking the show to Europe (1891-1892)
  • Pushing alternating current in America (1892-1893)
  • Wireless lighting and the oscillator (1893-1894)
  • Efforts at promotion (1894-1895)
  • Looking for alternatives (1895-1898)
  • Stationary waves (1899-1900)
  • Wardenclyffe (1900-1901)
  • The dark tower (1901-1905)
  • Visionary to the end (1905-1943)
  • Introduction.
  • Epilogue
  • Dinner at Delmonico's
  • An ideal childhood (1856-1878)
  • Dreaming of motors (1878-1882)
  • Learning by doing (1882-1886)
  • Mastering alternating current (1886-1888)
  • Selling the motor (1888-1889)
  • Searching for a new ideal (1889-1891)
Control code
1421146
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xiii, 500 pages
Isbn
9780691165615
Lccn
2012049608
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40022263915
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1421146
  • (OCoLC)820118804
Label
Tesla : inventor of the electrical age, W. Bernard Carlson
Link
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9941.pdf
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-471) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
  • A veritable magician (1891)
  • Taking the show to Europe (1891-1892)
  • Pushing alternating current in America (1892-1893)
  • Wireless lighting and the oscillator (1893-1894)
  • Efforts at promotion (1894-1895)
  • Looking for alternatives (1895-1898)
  • Stationary waves (1899-1900)
  • Wardenclyffe (1900-1901)
  • The dark tower (1901-1905)
  • Visionary to the end (1905-1943)
  • Introduction.
  • Epilogue
  • Dinner at Delmonico's
  • An ideal childhood (1856-1878)
  • Dreaming of motors (1878-1882)
  • Learning by doing (1882-1886)
  • Mastering alternating current (1886-1888)
  • Selling the motor (1888-1889)
  • Searching for a new ideal (1889-1891)
Control code
1421146
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xiii, 500 pages
Isbn
9780691165615
Lccn
2012049608
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40022263915
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) 1421146
  • (OCoLC)820118804

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

    • Chelmsford Public LibraryBorrow it
      25 Boston Road, Chelmsford, MA, 01824, US
      42.5945374 -71.3516266

Library Links

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Chelmsford Public Library. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.