Biography of Edison

[Henry]

Didn't know where to post this, so I dumped it here. Link to a NYT review of a new Edison biography:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/book ... d=57033262

[AZ*]

Interesting review. Thanks for posting.

[Lenoirstreetguy]

Thanks for posting this. I will have get my hands on this book. I think I've read most...if not all...of the Edison biographies. ( I haven't read Tate's, early work I will admit ) I think the best one I've read so far is Robert Conot's A Streak of Luck from 1979. It was the first " modern" bio in that it attempted to get past the reverential tone of the earlier studies that presented Edison as a candidate for the first Midwestern sainthood. Writing a biography of Edison is a formidable task,,,he was such a complicated personality..and there is such a mountain of material... that most biographers fasten on one aspect of his psyche to the detriment of presenting a three dimensional portrait. And yes, he could be a difficult ...jerk , and at the same time disarmingly charming. But the brilliance of his early work...with Charles Bachelor and Francis Upton...is utterly and completely amazing.

JRT

[DGPros]

For those in the West Orange NJ area, the Thomas Edison National Historic Park is having a book launch reception from 2-4 Oct. 26 2019

[Chuck]

The best one I've ever read so far is an older
book titled "Menlo Park Reminiscences" written
by Francis Jehl, who worked there.

[fran604g]

I look forward to this new perspective. It's been far too long...

Best,
Fran

[PeterF]

Another review of the new Morris book:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... on/598357/

This is the final work of the late author, Edmund Morris, who, by the way, also wrote a three-volume biography of Theodore Roosevelt that is sublime. Highly recommended, especially for those of us interested in the early part of the 20th century...we like the entertainment devices of the time, and the music they play, so readers of detailed books on the socio-political climate of the day will get an added dimension of context.

And as a bonus, one gets a valuable look at how a real leader leads. When TR toured the west by train, the remark that often the cars rolled into the station almost silently... because the flower petals had been strewn so thickly on the track by an admiring citizenry...is quite poignant.

There is a reason that certain charlatans like to have TR’s portrait on the wall behind them for photo ops and press events. Sadly, it takes more than that to live up to the standards he set.