This has been very, very interesting. A book written by an undisputed genius in his very own words.

I must say this book was a surprise. I was expecting lots of technical detail, but instead the book was filled with lots of interesting stories and insightful social comment. Some of the stories were even hilarious, causing me to laugh out loud a number of times.

The book also gives some insight into what it's like to be a genius, and some of the abilities such a person possesses. For instance, drawing on a blackboard bored Nikola because he could draw things in his mind that were as real to him as if they were written down in the physical world. Indeed, later in life he used this ability to design a number of his inventions, and once constructed in the real world they worked the very first time since he had already tested them out - in his mind!

Tesla also suffered from frail health most of his life, having several near death experiences. After one of these, he chronologically recalled in full detail his entire life from the time he was a baby in his mother's arms up to his present over a period of years - as if he was reliving everything.

There are a number of social observations towards the end of the book that are still relevant to our time. Written during the Prohibition (1920-1933), Tesla foresaw a time when entire cities would be destroyed in an instant, and our only hope for peace was a global communication and transport system.

My only disappointment in the man is that he was quite a determinist, to such an extent that he would have made B.F. Skinner proud. Still, for someone who single-handed invented our entire AC power grid and succeeded in promoting it over the objections of Edison, he was a genius of the sort that the world seldom sees.

A few great essays and a quick read. The stories from his youth were laugh-out-loud funny. His relationships with his mother and father are touching and enlightening, and the first part of the book describes very charmingly and accessibly how to create a thoughtful, strong, productive character. The introduction by Ben Johnston very helpfully dispels some of the common mythology about Tesla with very specific information about how it was created.

"The pressure of occupation and the incessant stream of impressions pouring into our consciousness thru all the gateways of knowledge make modern existence hazardous in many ways. Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves."

"When natural inclination develops into a passionate desire, one advances towards his goal in seven-league boots."

Short but interesting read of a man who was a genius, but also may have suffered from many mental illnesses and found himself caught up in a world where he wanted to do good for all and others only wanted to use his inventions to make money.

По неговите думи, стъпил в Америка, за да открие страна 100 години назад в развитието си от стария континент. В същото време, с разсъжденията по изобретенията си показва, че е поне 100 години изпреварил времето си. Плашещо точни предсказания каква технология ще се използва, но я е мислил като да може да я развие в негово време. А някои неща ги използваме масово едва в 21 век, други - още не.
Описва как е виждал целите изобретения в съзнанието си и ги е строил точно както си ги е представял, без да промени нищо.

Малко постно за биография с почти нищо извън работата. Освен няколко детски спомени. Такъв живот и дело може да запълни многотомник и да не стигне. Не ни е оставил много в тази автобиография, ала чувството пак е добро да чуеш мислите на гений. Постното върви добре преди Коледа, а с работата си човекът е оставил истинската автобиография.

What a personality, rather bad ass, inventive, but with no business case skills. Excellent read

What a bizarre little book. Tesla has always seemed to me someone who existed in a space between our world and another unfathomable place, brought here by a glitch in dimensions or something. This loose memoir confirms my suspicions :). And not only because of passages like this: "I had a brother who was gifted to an extraordinary degree; one of those rare phenomena of mentality which biological investigation has failed to explain. His premature death left my earth parents disconsolate." No, it's also how differently he thought about inventing and engineering than everyone else.

It's not particularly well-written in the standard sense (and my copy, at least, was ATROCIOUSLY edited). But that's not really what it's about anyway. It's about getting the chance to spend time with a quirky genius.

Che uomo straordinario. Già vedeva droni, cellulari, computer, robotica, automi, smart home, bombe "telecomandate", crittografia di quella tosta, automobili alla Super Car.
La sua mente rimarrà un mistero, la portata della sua immaginazione sconfinata.

My Inventions Nikola Tesla's Autobiography, serves as Nikola Tesla's autobiography, encompassing reflections on his significant breakthroughs and revolutionary creations. Among them, Tesla's most remarkable invention, alternating current (AC) empowers a wide range of modern marvels, spanning from household heating systems to computers and advanced robotics.

Many things that we take for granted today such as our electrical system, computers and smart phone would not be possible without Nikola Tesla. Unfortunately, he was not a savvy businessman like Thomas Edison. Both invented things, but Edison had a lot of people to work on his inventions whereas Tesla had very little funding and only a handful of assistants that aided him. One was a wealthy business man who wanted to do more business and the other one was humanitarian and wanted to provide free energy to the whole world which would put an end to the war between nations in the name of power and energy.

It's true that most of his patents and inventions were stolen and seized by the US government. And one good example is Marconi and his radio invention. Later it was proved that it was Tesla who invented radio and transferred the first signal even way before Marconi did.
X-rays was also invented by Tesla and he called it shadowgraph. But he was least bothered about people stealing his ideas and credits because he always wanted to work for the benefit of the mankind on global level and he foresaw this back then and wanted to go wireless available for free to the whole world.

Tesla’s drive, determination and focus were very inspiring. Anyone with an interest in the development of our modern technologies should read this book. It is written in a manner that everyone can understand. I especially enjoyed the insights into his personal challenges. _

Cred că putem considera data de 10 iulie 1856, ziua în care s-a născut Nikola Tesla, una de o importanță crucială pentru istoria noastră, cât și pentru prezent. A fost una dintre cele mai misterioase personalități din lumea științei și a inventicii, un personaj care mă fascinează și pe care îl admir de multă vreme. Tesla se află în spatele unor invenții și tehnologii de care suntem, mai mult sau mai puțin, dependenți și astăzi. Mai ales astăzi.

Mi-a adus o imensă satisfacție să citesc cartea asta, care reprezintă de fapt o serie de articole scrise între 1917 și 1919 pentru revista Electrical Experimenter. Nu numai pentru că e extraordinară, ci și pentru că am aflat o sumedenie de informații inedite despre una dintre cele mai strălucite minți care au existat vreodată. A fost o minte vizionară, un om cu mult înaintea timpului său, care a prevăzut lucruri din prezentul nostru cu o acuratețe uimitoare. El însuși recunoaște asta, atunci cînd vorbește despre Turnul Wardenclyffe și refuzul lui John Pierpont Morgan de a-l finanța în continuare : “Proiectul meu a fost întârziat de legile naturii. Lumea nu era pregătită pentru el. Devansasem cu mult epoca mea.” E aproape ca și cum ar fi călătorit peste decenii până în zilele noastre și apoi s-ar fi întors în timpul lui, care oricum nu-l putea cuprinde. Altfel cum se explică faptul că descrie atît de bine telefoane mobile și sateliți – bineînțeles, raportat la nivelul și limbajul tehnologic al începutului de secol XX. Poate chiar avea ascunsă pe undeva o mașină a timpului.

Părerile sunt împărțite în cazul prezentării pe care Anca Irina Ionescu, traducătoarea cărții, i-a făcut-o cunoscutului fizician și inventator în prefața cărții. Mi-a plăcut parțial, însă parcă a fost cam prea lungă și plină de detalii care se găsesc și în conținutul propriu-zis al cărții. Aș fi preferat să-l descopăr direct, prin propriile sale cuvinte. Relatările lui despre aventurile specifice copilăriei, presărate cu întâmplări mai puțin obișnuite, îi dovedesc înclinația evidentă către știință și fizică aplicată. Povestește foarte pe scurt despre rivalitatea dintre el și Edison (al cărui angajat a fost o perioadă), însă lucrurile au fost mult mai grave. Edison l-a ademenit să lucreze la compania sa promițîndu-i suma de 50000 de dolari, dar la finalizarea sarcinilor acesta a refuzat să-l plătească, spunându-i cu un cinism incredibil că nu înțelege umorul american. Întâmplarea asta l-a marcat puternic pe Tesla, mai ales că până atunci îl prețuia imens pe Edison.

Mama sa l-a numit “copilul luminii”, datorită faptului că s-a născut în timpul unei furtuni cu descărcări electrice. Cu timpul a ajuns stăpânul luminii, reușind să controleze energia electrică prin invențiile sale. Energie despre care afirma că se găsește liberă pe Pământ și în univers, sperând  ca într-o zi să o ofere oamenilor fără niciun fel de costuri. Un alt vis de-al lui era tehnologia wireless, prin care aspira la o comunicare facilă și instantanee între oameni, fără restricții. Era convins că războaiele ar putea fi evitate dacă oamenii ar comunica mai mult. Așadar, iată că teoretizase o tehnologie care e acum parte integrantă a vieții noastre. A descoperit, pe lângă multe altele, motorul cu curent alternativ, radarul, transmisia de energie electromagnetică (radio-transmițătorul), bobina Tesla. Și poate ar fi fost și mai multe dacă laboratorul lui n-ar fi ars în 1895, în incendiu pierzându-se documente și note foarte importante.

În alte timpuri și locuri poate că Tesla ar fi fost un zeu cu față umană. Poate un Thor modern ori un Zeus binevoitor. Dar cu siguranță a fost un Prometeu care a smuls secretele fulgerelor și electricității pentru folosul oamenilor.

Anything by Nikola Tesla is 5-stars, although this autobiography is interesting in a lot of ways. The book is very self-promotional, but it's also probably realistic -- Tesla was an exceptional man. He has some good accounts of his childhood (barred from reading books by candlelight by his father, he snuck into the library and read using his own handmade candles...), unique way of thinking (visualization and model manipulation in his head), early commercial exploits as a consultant, and interactions with far lesser people in industry. It's sad that his world system, which might have worked (or might have accomplished less than he expected), never got built due to his lack of resources/lack of success in working with businesspeople.

This book is definitely not objective, and probably not comprehensive, but I don't know of a better book about Tesla (written by an engineer/scientist like himself).

My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla
By: Nikola Tesla
Narrated by: Stephen Paul Aulridge Jr.
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
I have always been interested in Tesla and his life/inventions. He is very strange, intelligent, and someone far ahead of his time. In this book, Tesla tells all about what goes on in his head, which sometimes is very weird. He tells about his life, how his inventions came to him, and how his inventions helped save his life. He tells his encounters with famous people, his brush with death which was more than once, and future ideas.
If he could only know how much his inventions have changed the world he would be so happy. He died poor and alone. We can do so much now because of him and few realize that. Good book.
He also looks like what my grandfather looked like when he was young..:)
The narrator sounds like what I would picture Telsa would sound like. He was wonderful!

Din această autobiografia am aflat multe lucruri pe care nici nu le bănuiam. Recomand.