Great fun learning the backstory

Great fun learning about the personal Iives of some great engineers and scientists.

I recommend this book.

Yes, the author excluded Nicola Tesla (not sure why) but I’m ok with that as he has been covered in detail by other authors.

That the contribution of Tesla was left out was a startling and important omission and made a good book, at times an engrossing book, just ok. That was not the only issue where credibility of the writer was in question. I looked up Hertz and the cause of his tragic early death was most certainly not as it was alluded to/speculated on in the book.

2 1/2 *

A very interesting read. The first half of the book reads much nicer than the second half, packed with balanced sum of science and history. The second half I personally found it more dull.
I would have given this a rating of four stars but without even mentioning Nikola Tesla and the dominance of AC three stars should suffice.

Brilliant book

I picked this up because of the author's other book on Einstein's equation, E=MC2. This one was not as interesting. But he does briefly cover the life of Alan Turing who is considered the father of computer science. Turing laid down the theories that paved the way for the creation of the modern computer and the idea of artificial intelligence. His contribution was made well before the invention of the transistor. He was also a leading cryptographer credited with breaking the German Enigma machine and helping to save Britain from catastrophe in WWII. Despite his monumental contributions, he was shunned for being homosexual which ultimately lead to his suicide at age 41. One of the greatest minds of the 20th century.

A pretty good read. The book covered the history of electricity as well as a thorough history of the major players in electricity. Still, I was really hoping to learn about Tesla.

I got about halfway through this book before I discovered that it was abridged. I found the information interesting, but I could defnintely tell information was missing. Even at the end the narrator talks about the story starting with Volta, but in this abridged version it didn't. It definitely felt as if there were other gaps in the story of electricity. Also, the author changed his approach in a few of the stories. The first two stories start out kind of mysterious, the story on Hertz is told almost entirely from his own diary and other documents. The end of the chapter on computers sounds like the conclusion to the entire book, but it's not.

Still, in spite of all its flaws, I would still recommned. In fact, I'm looking for an unabrided text to read the missing parts. I'm pretty sure they cut out entire stories, but I also suspect that there was some internal editing within the stories as there occasionally seemed to be gaps in the narrative.

This book begins interestingly enough. It is well written and not overly scientific. Bodanis starts with a chapter on wires which sets the tone of the entire book. Unfortunately, his discussion on the discovery of electricity is filled with fictional details. Yet, after his limited discussion of wires he moves on to waves giving the reader a look at Faraday’s postulates. This discussion ends when the author declares that Faraday is misunderstood but later got revenge. Much information was given about the men who believed that there were “waves” or a mysterious force but no technical insight was provided.

When the discussion turned to radar waves, the focus of the book also changed and became more like a war story. One which quickly lost my interest. I think he many have done a better job to focus the entire book on how electricity made us warriors or something like the hidden connection between war and electricity. He handled the subject well, but served up a big bowl of poop to those looking to learn about electricity.

If you expected an introduction to electricity this is not the book. What you will find instead is a fictional account of the history of electricity, with emphasis on WWII. I cannot recommend this book for learning about electricity. Perhaps however, war enthusiast may find this book of some interest.

What would your life be like if there was a total blackout? I mean, electricity stops being generated. Well, there would be pandemonium; absolute anarchy would rule the streets. Think about it; electricity is entwined with our lives now, especially in places like the United States. Batteries would last for a while, but the internet would stop since the server farms underlying it would not get electricity. Cars would work, but the gas stations or petrol stations would not. Food would rot without refrigeration.

"Electric Universe" describes the development of electrical devices and theories utilizing electromagnetism. David Bodanis focuses on the people and their relationships rather than the equations. The inventions are the ones you would expect; the telegraph, the telephone, the electric lightbulb, the radio, the transatlantic cable, and so on.

Electrical forces have existed since the dawn of time, but we haven't always utilized them. It took such visionaries as Joseph Henry, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and others to develop the technologies and ideas that support our modern lifestyles.

Science light, history strong. Good storytelling. Solidly popular science, it is what it purports to be.

Após anos na biblioteca finalmente peguei nele, dado uma necessidade recente de entender como funciona a tecnologia atual.
Não parecendo especialmente atrativo pelo título é um livro que se lê bastante bem, altamente informativo com uma narrativa histórica bastante bem conseguida.
Explica-nos controlamos e somos controlados pela eletricidade, desde Volta, até Turing, passando por Bell e Edison.
Termina com uma passagem interessante sobre neurotransmissores.
Aconselho!

Interesting stories and a little bit of help understanding electricity.