Lightning Strikes: Timeless Lessons in Creativity from the Life and Work of Nikola Tesla

by John F. Wasik

Overview

An exploration of the scientist’s inspiring life, his controversies, his legacy, and how his creativity can help us today.

Seventy years after his death, Nikola Tesla has become a rock star. Lightning Strikes examines his complete life and legacy, including Tesla’s profound influence on everything from systems integration to drone warfare. Engineers, entrepreneurs, and academics will find it invaluable not only for the never-before-published interviews and archives, but also for the creative principles that visionaries like Larry Page and Elon Musk have used to build iconic brands and groundbreaking inventions. The book also reveals why the government and business leaders wanted to shut down Tesla’s bold experiments, and how hundreds of his ideas are now being implemented globally—including clean power, robotics, alternating current motors, and wireless transmission of power and information.

As a bonus, a free augmented reality app from Yetzer Studio allows you to scan beautiful full-color illustrations in the book, unlocking an interactive 3D animation as well as videos honoring Tesla's life and legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454931959
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	11/22/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	290
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John Wasik—author of 15 books and more than 1,000 columns, blogs, and articles for the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, Forbes, and Bloomberg News—has been researching Tesla for more than a decade. He’s filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests and reviewed thousands of pages of Tesla’s letters and files, many of which disappeared when he died in 1943. He has also consulted with Tesla experts worldwide and explored the vast resources of the Edison, JP Morgan, Westinghouse, and FBI archives. Wasik lives in Grayslake, IL, and speaks widely around the world.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Why Tesla Still Electrifies Us 1

I Hoover's Stakeout: An Iconic Inventor Dies 9

Teslaction #1 Be Introspective 26

II Catching Fire: Tesla's Creative Inheritance 29

Teslaction #2 Be Unrelentingly Curious 46

III Flashes of Light: The Psychology of Tesla 49

Teslaction #3 Practice Visualization 66

IV From Prague to Pittsburgh: The Roving Electrician 69

Teslaction #4 Be Indispensable 92

V The Wizard of Electricity: Tesla's lightning Show 95

Teslaction #5 Sell Your Ideas 116

VI Power from the Earth and Sky: Tesla's Wireless World System 119

Teslaction #6 Zoom Out 138

VII Weathering the Storm: The Fall of Wardenclyffe 141

Teslaction #7 Be Resilient 156

VIII Man for All Seasons: Adapting to a New, Turbulent Century 159

Teslaction #8 Reposition Yourself 184

IX A Detective Story: Searching for the Elusive Death Ray 187

Teslaction #9 Be Empathic 208

X The Once and Future Tesla: The Wizards Twenty-First-Century Legacy 211

Teslaction #10 Be Chimeric 236

Epilogue 239

References & Abbreviations 245

Bibliographic Essay 249

Acknowledgments 265

Image Credits 267

Index 269

About the Author 276

Editorial Reviews

“A pretty fun gift for any tech geek or nerd.” —Techaeris

From the Publisher