NIKOLA WAS DEFINITELY A MAN OF MYSTERY -- THIS BOOK OFFERS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT APPROACHMuch has been written about Nikola Tesla and his great inventions. This book tackles Tesla's work in a slightly different way by suggestion that Tesla might have been a time traveler or a being from another planet who was abandoned here and adopted by an Earthly couple.Though at first this may seem to be utter nonsense,a closer look would indicate that the author (a seasoned writer on metaphysical and New Age topics, and a fantastic prophet in his own right) might have a good point. For many of the things Tesla invented were decades -- if not a century -- a head of their time.HOW THEN DID HE GET THESE IDEAS?One source says that Tesla communicated with space beings and actually constructed a telescope-like device to enhance his ability to "speak" with extraterrestrials. Naturally, this was long before the SETI movement or interest in UFOs. So what gives?Though relatively short,this book does offer some very useful insights into the life of Tesla that you will no find elsewhere. It is well written and straight to the point. It is not a boring rehash of previously published material, but a seemingly bright new approach to a subject that is of increasing interest.

I've read a borrowed copy of this; seeing that Amazon had it, I bought my own copy - I could see that digesting this material is going to take a while.

The text is all here, unabridged. The image quality of the illustrations leaves a lot to be desired with this edition, however. It looks like a second-generation xerox in spots. If this is a problem, do yourself a favor and look for the 1980's hardcover reprint. The images are much better in that one. That said, the substance of this book is thoroughly recommended for the serious student of electrical engineering as well as fans of Tesla.

Since this text was written in the late 1800s, and is reprinted here without alteration, the language can sometimes have the density of Shakespeare (without the poetry). Much of the phraseology has passed out of use in the last hundred years. This material is written for the intelligencia of Tesla's era, and not "dumbed down" for this age as many other books are. This is an advantage for someone who wants an authoratative viewpoint on this subject (who more authoratative than Tesla!), but poisonous to the casual reader.

Many of the inventions discussed in this book are now commonplace (for instance - the AC induction motor, fully described here, is in use everywhere). Nikola's own depth of understanding of the principles involved make this a thoroughly intense experience for those who are ready for it. Readers who can understand this material are going to experience the devine "Ah-ha" on a regular basis throughout this book. Others will be put to sleep.

This book will separate the men from the boys very quickly.

This book was so interesting. It gave a lot of information!

It has the same information as all of the other books about Telsa. If you haven't read any of the books on Tesla you should buy this CD. But if you already have, there is no point to buy this CD.

This is an excellent collection of Nikola Tesla's patents. Included are Tesla's patents from Canada and England that I didn't even know existed. There are free Tesla patents on the internet but they fall short of what this collection has to offer.

Marc did great job covering life and work of Nikola Tesla, a serbian-american inventor who made great contributions to modern science and engineering. Book covers all of the important aspects of Tesla's inventions and scientific discoveries. It covers the broader historical background and explains the importance of Tesla's work to a great detail. It is also very good at explaining "mysteries" surrounding Tesla's personal life. It presents Tesla both as one of the greatest scientist ever as well as a human being. This book is so good since it makes the right balance between technical information (very accurate, with rich bibliography) and Tesla's personal life and social interactions. Therefore it is interesting for both serious scientists who would like to learn from Tesla's work as well as for general population who would like to learn about this extraordinary personality.

Overall, this is the number one book on Tesla so far. The best starting point and reference regarding Tesla's life and work.

A note from the author.

WIZARD: THE LIFE & TIMES OF NIKOLA TESLA has taken me 20 years to write. My key reasons for writing the book were to try and answer many of the questions left unanswered by the other authors, such as why Tesla's name dropped into obscurity, whether or not he really received signals from Mars, how his magnifying transmitter really worked, what exactly happened to cause his failure with JP Morgan, what happened to his secret particle beam weaponry papers, and would his particle beam weapon have really worked.

The book is set up completely chronologically, and begins with a quote for each chapter. It also differs from the other biographies in a number of other ways mainly because I had access to hundreds of documents which had never been published before, many received through the Freedom of Information Act.

For instance, for the first time ever, WIZARD explains why Tesla stopped working for Edison, why Steinmetz dropped Tesla's name from his textbooks on AC power, why Michael Pupin never mentioned Tesla's name in his physics courses at Columbia University, how Tesla pre-dated Rutherford, Bohr and Einstein in theories on the structure of the atom and on what came to be called Quantum physics, how Marconi pirated Tesla's apparatus, why Tesla had a falling out with his editor TC Martin, John Jacob Astor, JP Morgan and John Hayes Hammond Jr, what Tesla's link to the Navy was, how Franklin Roosevelt used the Tesla patents to block payments on wireless apparatus to Marconi, yet at the same time cut Tesla out of the Marconi/Sarnoff/Westinghouse deal to create RCA, how Tesla interacted with Telefunken, the German wireless concern during WWI and the US War Department during WWII to help them design a particle beam weapon, and how and why Tesla's name has been picked up by cult circles.

It has been praised by PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY as "revelatory" and definitive, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN as "a serious piece of scholarship", "deep, comprehensive, definitive" and "highly recommended" by THE AMERICAN ACADEMY FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, "meticulously researched" by BOOKLIST, "utterly absorbing" by NEXUS, called "a masterpice" by best selling author NELSON DEMILLE and "recommended for all levels" by CHOICE.

Further, WIZARD is not only the story of Tesla's amazing life, but also a story about the rise of corporate America at the turn of the century as well as a story about numerous Tesla contemporaries such as Tom Edison, Guglielmo Marconi, George Westinghouse, Robert & Katherine Johnson, John Jacob Astor, JP Morgan, Stanford White, Franklin Roosevelt and J. Edgar Hoover.

This new trade paperback edition has a new illustration of Tesla's flying wing VTOL which was a forerunner of Lockheed Martin's X-33 which will replace the shuttle, and also a new section on the June 1908 explosion at Tunguska Siberia.The book contains over 1400 endnotes including references to 250 documents never published before, a full bibliography and index, and 16 pages of photos.

Best wishes,

Marc J. Seifer, Ph.D. Author

I really got a lot out of Seifer's book. The detail is excrutiating. The book flows as Tesla's life did, and it truly gives powerful insight.

The book is lucid to the point that the reader is able to understand Tesla as a man, as an inventor and as a mortal demigod.

Truly interesting, well worth the price and time.

This is a very personal look at this inventor's life. Unlike many other biographies this autobiography tells us specifically what Tesla's reason were. Tesla also tells many very personal and insightful stories about himself. Many other works site this one because of its invaluable reference. Tells much about the inventor in abridged way.

The introduction material in this book written by Ben Johnston is well prepared, informative, and brief. It is a good introduction to the rest of the book which is Tesla's writing.

Tesla's own words can be tedious, but hey the language has changed a bit in the last 100 years. He takes a few rabbit trails and talks much of his inventions not what he thinks and feels. I would really like to know why he liked pigeons so much but he never says. What Tesla doesn't say, gives us insights to what is important to him. No serious study of Tesla can neglect this work.

For a more in-depth historical biography of the man see, Margaret Cheney's "Tesla, Man out of Time". ISBN 0-88029-419-1

In this book, Tesla himslef explains the inner workings of his mind. To me, knowing how he actually came up with his inventions is the best any Tesla book could possibly get.

As opposed to the unearthly stuff most people who would be searching for Tesla books are actually interested in. If you want to wind coils for old-fashioned electric motors, alternators and inductors, this is the book for you! Unfortunately for those interested in extraterrestrial influences and transmitting electrical power through the ether, this book represents the real science and inventions that made Tesla a true success in his day, as opposed to the kookier speculations that later fertilized his legend. Because it dispells myths, I have given it three stars for performing a real service. But unless your are deeply interested in the history of alternating current, you don't have to spend [money] for a paperweight.

When I was young I planned to write something along the lines of "an evaluation of Tesla's scientific contributions." Three things stopped me: 1) procrastination, 2) laziness, and 3) the impression that everyone who writes about Tesla will have a "kook" label stick to them for the rest of their lives. Why this is so is interesting, but first about the book.

This is a reprint of one published a little more than a hundred years ago, and is most definitely not a "kook book." The author, Mr. Martin, writes a very good description of the nature and significance of Tesla's work up to about 1895. The second part of the book consists of reprints of lectures delivered by Tesla, apparently written by the great man himself. The book contains many good diagrams and illustrations.

Both parts have the expected "old-fashioned" feel, but the book gives us a chance to compare Tesla's writing style with that of a contemporary. My own impression is that Tesla's writing style is fairly good as well as interesting, though perhaps even more florid than customary during that age. The book is rather long, and I would venture only two types are likely to read it in entirety: 1) historians of science, and 2) the Tesla sycophants.

When the book was originally published Tesla was at the height of his powers. About that time his assertions started to become more and more grandiose, if not fantastic. Following the debacle of his "world wireless power transmission" scheme (just prior to WWI), his reputation suffered. Although he lived until 1941, in later life he tended to be increasingly seen as an eccentric loner and kook. He died in loneliness and poverty.

OK, so why does a "kook" label tend stick to anyone who has more than passing interest in Tesla? The first reason is, of course, the fantastic and eccentric claims Tesla made late in life. But by itself this is not enough - after all, even the great Newton dabbled in alchemy and the Book of Revelations late in life. To the first reason must be added a second: a "conspiracy" cult has grown around Tesla; cultists explain all his failing not as personal failings, but as due to a conspiracy against the man. In short, Tesla has been turned into a messianic figure, and scientists are not comfortable with this image.

A volume that records the early pioneering work of an electrical genius and inventor, in the same platform of Thomas Edison and Charles Steinmetz, Guglielmo Marconi and George Westinghouse, though never as well known. It shows in great detail not only the works of Tesla's experiments, but will give the reader a glimpse of the amazing range of his thinking. From alternating curent generators to Unipolar generators (generators being just one field of study) to theories and applications of polyphase currents and motors to high frequency and high potential currents, this gives the reader some basic understanding of his pioneering work.

This is not about his life and times, and how this genius could understand the mysteries of electromagnestism but could not help himself when it comes to battling corporations represented by lawyers of JP Morgan. It may seem outdated, since the work was published in the 1890s. But nowhere can you find a book that will explain more about the foundations of his technical and scientific work.

While Peat does an excellent job at reporting of broadcast power from a critical standpoint, some very speculative statements are made about Tesla himself (e.g. He completely suppressed his own emotions in an attempt to use reasoning only) I had some objections to the reliability of part of the information presented. Peat offers alot of good information and the book is worth reading if your interested in Tesla and his works, particularly broadcast power.

Dr. Peat gives a scientific perspective to Tesla's work, specifically, the wireless power transmission theories. The book is very narritive in his search for the truth about Tesla. His endeavors of searching for info are quite interesting. I recommend the book to any scientist out there. The book was originally published in 1983.

Three unusual scientists : John Keely, Nikola Tesla, Walter Russell ... long overdue. These three men were indeed the greatest minds of the 19th & 20 century. Walter Russell was painter, poet, philosopher, scientist, sculptor, painter, teacher, lecturer, architect, and servant to mankind ... leader of the Twilight Club from 1895 to 1946 when it was disbanded to form the University of Science and Philosophy. The Twilight Club led to the foundation of many organizations such as the Kiwanis, Rotary, and Optimist Clubs ... the Boy Scouts of America ... Child Labor Laws ... Public Schools ... The Carnegie Library System ... and yet this man is virtually unheard of and written of very little.

Bravo, to Martha Keltz for shining light on these great men!!!!

Overall 'Tesla - Man out of time' is a decent biography of one of the most under-appreciated scientists of the last hundred years.

The problem with most biographies of brilliant and eccentric individuals, is that the books focus more on the times and people around the individual, then the individual themselves. After completing the book, we know about the people who Tesla met and dealt with, the inventions that Tesla developed; but really do not get an intrinsic understanding of what made Tesla tick.

On the downside, the book does not go into any real technical descriptions of any of Tesla's inventions and leaves a bit to be desired from an organizational perspective. Cheney occasionally slips back in time for different events.

Cheney provides an interesting insight into the jealous and greedy side of Thomas Edison and how Edison saw Tesla as a threat.

Overall, Tesla - Man out of time is well worth reading.

A required complement to "My Inventions: the autobiography of Nikola Tesla", this book shows what a single man is capable of accomplishing.

This book isn't just for people interested in science and technology. It describes the character of a man of brilliance equivalent to Newton, Faraday or Einstein, who through his research forever changed how we think and live.

Due to his modesty, secludedness and research without economic interests, he didn't get nearly as much publicity as Thomas Edison, his American counterpart. Later during his life his extremely revolutionary ideas labeled him as a lunatic, which further compromised investments in his research. Once a millionaire due to a royalties from Westinghouse, his careless spending in expensive research and his generosity toward Westinghouse in a time of economic hardship eventually made him penniless, a condition in which he died.

Tesla has hundreds of patents in his name, including the radio's, which _to this day_ is still incorrectly attributed to Marconi. Many of his patents were classified by the military and are still secret. Yet Tesla rarely has any mention in physics textbooks.

Get the book and know that truly Tesla was a Man Out of Time. His accomplishments and his exemplary character shouldn't be forgotten.

Ms. Cheney introduces the legendary inventor through stories from his life. Later on, the book focuses more on the technical aspects of his life (e.g. patents).

The book is complete with several photographs of the inventor and related material, and it lends itself wonderfully to any reader's understanding and awe.

I believe it is imperative for anyone who wishes to know the real stories of radio, alternating current, and the induction motor to read about how these marvellous developments sprung out of Nikola Tesla's creative mind.

"TESLA: Man Out of Time" is quite current, and the fascinating information therein is objective, allowing the reader to form his own opinions.

Indeed, everyone I know who was read this book wants to hear more of the man who invented the 20th century!

If only he'd called himself an artist we'd be marveling at his imagination and noting how far ahead of his time he was. Instead, we have a scammer who, failing at a career in music, proceeded to live quite nicely at the hands of credulous investors.

Historically, and artistically, this book is a fascinating study. The graphics Keely created are stunningly evocative and complex, his prose gives the impression of a man in command of a universe of phenomena understood only by him. It has absolutely nothing to do with any working physics theories, and anybody with the ability to understand what he's saying will immediately recognize this. It's just pure unadulterated flim-flam designed to wow those who don't quite understand the words he's using.

Even though the book's author-- more accurately editor-- takes a few half-hearted steps to assure us he is not a fraud, it's clear that is just what he was with his free energy machines that will be working "very soon" revolutionizing the daily lives of all of us "within the decade." It's hilariously obvious none of the devices work, and never would. Those who would compare Keely to Tesla can only do so in the absence of a single critical thought. Tesla was a genius that did revolutionize our daily lives, Keely concocted mumbo-jumbo for personal gain and was never heard from again, except from a few hopeful lay inventors and conspiracy theorists in need of a better understanding of physics.

One of the things that absolutely baffled me about this book is I can't decide if the author is serious or not about Keely's physics. The text, illustrations, even the story of resurrecting one of the machines all added up to a pretty damning indictment to me, but Dale Pond writes it up like it was a vindication. Perhaps it was sarcasm. But then there is the blatantly hyperbolic title-- don't expect a delivery on that account.

I found the book an amusing-- at times laugh-out-loud outrageous-- and amazing as a historical document looking at the dawn of the technological age and the gee-whiz credulity exhibited by non scientific public. Lots of beatuful illustrations and photographs of Keely's (actually quite impressive and beautiful) sculptures and almost psychedelic "charts" depicting his fanciful pysics. Well worth leaving on the coffeetable for the amusement of your guests-- but only two stars because I think the author is in earnest and the title is about as misleading as it gets.

This book has some interesting pictures and historical factoids, but as a scientist and engineer I found it to be lacking much real information. It seems that Keeley was the only person who really understood his ideas, and wrote things down in cryptic oversimplified doodles. I am very openminded and was interested in this book, but lots of it seems like pseudo-babble. Maybe I just need to read it again??

Throughout this book I found references and footnotes to Keely and His Discoveries by Clara Bloomfield-Moore - the only book by a contemporary who was a close personal friend and financial supporter of Keely. Originally published in the late 1800s, her book - ISBN 1589636139 - is back in print and makes a wonderful companion to this book.