TESLA'S WORDS

A debut work offers an edited version of Nikola Tesla’s autobiography.

Tesla ranks among the greatest of modern inventors, a pioneer in the field of electrical engineering. He was dedicated to exploring the possibilities of wireless electricity and the delivery of safe and affordable power on a massive scale. He was largely responsible for the alternating current system that revolutionized the distribution of electricity. But, as Oswalt observes, Tesla is all but forgotten today, a situation likely exacerbated by the prohibitively difficult nature of his autobiography, My Inventions, “literature from the past that cannot be understood at a glance.” In order to make Tesla’s extraordinary achievements better known, Oswalt has reworked the inventor’s autobiography, transforming it into a “simplified version for a 21st century audience.” The result is an impressively accessible account still largely rendered in Tesla’s own words that charts his life from his boyhood in Smiljan (modern-day Croatia) to his efforts in France and the United States, including his work for Thomas Edison. Tesla was an indefatigable worker and a visionary with a “passion for electricity.” He died in 1943 but anticipated the rise of artificial intelligence and the creation of the internet. Oswalt’s version of Tesla’s remembrances not only provides a lucid snapshot of his breakthroughs, but also presents the innovator’s interpretation of his scientific activities and his understanding of the ethos of an inventor: “It has been my supreme pleasure to live life as an inventor of the highest status. The inventor’s purpose is to accelerate society ever-more towards the idea of utopia. I am honored and blessed to have lived this life and to be categorized as one of the most successful inventors to date, amongst a very short list.” For those interested in Tesla’s life or the nature of invention itself, this is an edifying work.

A startling peek into the mind of a true genius.