Tammy M. (Tamsbooks) reviewed Edison: A Biography (Francis Parkman Prize Edition) on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Edison: A biography by Matthew Josephson
Josephsons biography of Edison won the Francis Parkman award, so its quality as a solidly researched account of Edisons life can be assured.
As an inventor/businessman/industrialist, Edisons life mirrors his restless creative energy. The details of his work with the incandescent bulb, phonograph, etc. are detailed in this book, as are his many other ventures. Following the scope of his lifes work was endlessly interesting.
We find out less about the inner man in this book perhaps because his work as an inventor consumed his life. Edison receives quite gentle, almost reverential, treatment in this book. The writing feels much more archaic than the era of the late 1950s/early 1960s in which it was written. One often has to wait patiently until the end of a long sentence to finish a thought begun many words earlier.
In sum, the book will likely be interesting to those who have experience with and tolerance for the interesting, but not gripping, historical biography. In the interest of full disclosure, however, after reading McCulloughs biography of Truman, all other historical biographies else seems to pale in comparison.
Josephsons biography of Edison won the Francis Parkman award, so its quality as a solidly researched account of Edisons life can be assured.
As an inventor/businessman/industrialist, Edisons life mirrors his restless creative energy. The details of his work with the incandescent bulb, phonograph, etc. are detailed in this book, as are his many other ventures. Following the scope of his lifes work was endlessly interesting.
We find out less about the inner man in this book perhaps because his work as an inventor consumed his life. Edison receives quite gentle, almost reverential, treatment in this book. The writing feels much more archaic than the era of the late 1950s/early 1960s in which it was written. One often has to wait patiently until the end of a long sentence to finish a thought begun many words earlier.
In sum, the book will likely be interesting to those who have experience with and tolerance for the interesting, but not gripping, historical biography. In the interest of full disclosure, however, after reading McCulloughs biography of Truman, all other historical biographies else seems to pale in comparison.
