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The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World | 
| Manufacturer: Crown
Category: EBooks
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $4.96 (33%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 12580
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Dewey Decimal Number: 621.3092
ASIN: B000OI0G9S
Publication Date: March 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
At the height of his fame Thomas Alva Edison was hailed as “the Napoleon of invention” and blazed in the public imagination as a virtual demigod. Newspapers proclaimed his genius in glowing personal profiles and quipped that “the doctor has been called” because the great man “has not invented anything since breakfast.” Starting with the first public demonstrations of the phonograph in 1878 and extending through the development of incandescent light, a power generation and distribution system to sustain it, and the first motion picture cameras—all achievements more astonishing in their time than we can easily grasp today—Edison’s name became emblematic of all the wonder and promise of the emerging age of technological marvels.
But as Randall Stross makes clear in this critical biography of the man who is arguably the most globally famous of all Americans, Thomas Edison’s greatest invention may have been his own celebrity. Edison was certainly a technical genius, but Stross excavates the man from layers of myth-making and separates his true achievements from his almost equally colossal failures. How much credit should Edison receive for the various inventions that have popularly been attributed to him—and how many of them resulted from both the inspiration and the perspiration of his rivals and even his own assistants? How much of Edison’s technical skill helped him overcome a lack of business acumen and feel for consumers’ wants and needs?
This bold reassessment of Edison’s life and career answers these and many other important questions while telling the story of how he came upon his most famous inventions as a young man and spent the remainder of his long life trying to conjure similar success. We also meet his partners and competitors, presidents and entertainers, his close friend Henry Ford, the wives who competed with his work for his attention, and the children who tried to thrive in his shadow—all providing a fuller view of Edison’s life and times than has ever been offered before. The Wizard of Menlo Park reveals not only how Edison worked, but how he managed his own fame, becoming the first great celebrity of the modern age.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Uncredited Inventory August 4, 2008
This book provides an amazing look at the Wizard of Menlo park. My favorite portions of the book did not revolve around his inventions, his genius, his marketing of himself, the way he breached the barrier to become one of the first 'superstars' of the media. My favorite things were the little unknown ideas which have taken on life in my time. As I am reading the book I am thinking, hey, Edison invented the idea of Netflix, Sesame Street, and more. But the basic premise behind these ideas didn't come to fruition in his lifetime. That's the beauty of his genius. He saw a future that no one else did -- despite his stubbornness and frequent bad business decisions.
 Fun / Interesting June 12, 2008
I did not realize how little I knew about Thomas Alva Edison - until reading this book. This is a good biography of Edison, but deals more about his rise to fame and how that whole process happened. The author weaved in and out of a good biography with some editorial tangents, but overall this is a good book.
Coming out of reading this book I really appreciate Edison, and realize that he should have stuck to inventing and left the leadership and management of his companies to people who were good and leadership and management. Classic micromanager who was not good at leading and managing. But, one heck of an inventor.
JVD
Nobody Beats the Wiz! May 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This enjoyable biography focuses on:
1.) Thomas Edison's various achievements as an inventor.
2.) How Edison's inventions led to an ostensible raise in the standard of living in the United States and eventually Europe.
3.) How Edison became and lived as a celebrity because of his achievements.
If you like reading about heroic producers of the industrial revolution, then I highly recommend adding this book to your reading list.
Even the anecdotes about Thomas Edison's (initial) failures are fun to read. For example, I particularly liked the story of how J.P. Morgan volunteered to have his study be one of the first rooms to be wired with electricity. Eager to bask in his latest highly anticipated investment, Morgan turned on the incandescent light next to his desk to do a little evening reading. Unfortunately for him, as he began to read, his study caught fire, eventually leading to his house suffering substantial damage.
Did J.P. Morgan divest himself of Thomas Edison? Absolutely not! He merely invited Thomas Edison over to witness the charred remains of his study and firmly inquired if he could install the wiring correctly the second time. Such was the earned reputation of Thomas Edison. J.P. Morgan knew he was investing in something big. Also, this story also revealed a great deal about his character. Instead of dwelling on his serious mistake, Thomas Edison focused on how he could rectify the situation and improve his invention. But I digress.
A great read!
An Excellent Read About The World's Most Famous Inventor February 24, 2008
I totally enjoyed this book. The author keeps you turning pages as he provides interesting fact after fact about Thomas Edison and his life as the world's most famous inventor. Inside you will learn what made Edison tick and how he impacted the world around him including his family, employees and close friends. As a phonograph buff I particularly enjoyed reading about Edison's beliefs regarding musicians, music and the promotion and sale of phonographs and cylinders (records). The Wizard of Menlo Park is well researched and well written. The author obviously has experience taking readers on enlightening journeys. This book will find a permanent place on my home bookshelf.
An Edison Biography with a Different Twist December 9, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read a number of biographies and biographical sketches of Thomas A. Edison. Most of these concentrate on the man's inventive genius and often provide many interesting technical details on his inventions and on the related technical problems. However, this biography has a rather different twist: it focuses mainly on Edison the businessman and his many shortcomings in this aspect of his life. He is portrayed as a genius with an insatiable passion for laboratory work but desperately lacking the necessary flair for how to succeed in the business world. Edison's private life is briefly discussed, including his relationships with his wives and his sons. The writing style is clear, friendly and engaging, thus making this book difficult to put down. This book is quite successful in depicting the ways in which Edison's instincts were often seriously at odds with the public's way of thinking during these times of mind-boggling new technological innovations. This book can be enjoyed by anyone. But those with a passionate fascination for this period and its greater-than-life figures are in for a particular treat.
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