BY RANDALL STROSS
Explains the quote “The world’s greatest inventor, world’s greatest dam fool”
4 stars out of 5 stars
There are two interesting quotes on Edison:
“The world’s greatest inventor and world’s worse businessman”
“The world’s greatest inventor, world’s greatest dam fool”.
The first was by Henry Ford, and the second by Edison himself. The book “The Wizard of Menlo Park” by Randall Stross will shed light on whether these statements are true or exaggerated. I believe most readers will conclude that they are exaggerated, with the “worse businessman” being the least exaggerated.
Edison was credited with two of the greatest inventions in human history, the phonograph, and the electric light bulb. However, a case can be made that, for the phonograph, not only Edison, but several of his assistants in the lab should share the credit. As for the electric light bulb, Humphrey Davy in Britain seemed to have the first version of it, though it did not function well. Edison’s ventures into electric cars and electric mining did not result in significant impact on these industries.
In was clear in Stross’ account that, in his phonograph and electric light businesses, Edison made promises to investors and the public which he could not deliver in the time frame he predicted. He also could not see the commercial market potential of music in the phonograph business. He was often in bad financial shape, and was lucky to have a rich friend, Henry Ford, who was generous in helping him financially.
In conclusion, the book portraits a more realistic version of Edison’s than the larger-than life version commonly found in books which students learn in school. One surprising aspect is that, on describing the battle of direct versus alternating currents, the name Tesla was not mentioned.
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