Tesla

His Tremendous and Troubled Life

By: Marko Perko, Stephen M. Stahl

Narrated by: JW Hathaway

The enigmatic Nikola Tesla—stalked by his ever-present inner demons—invents the modern world. His astonishing story is that of a new-age god, a genius, a Zeus, a wonderful Wizard, yet a deeply troubled one. He tames the mysterious force called “electricity;” he dazzles the world with his endless inventions and discoveries; he blazes new paths in science that profoundly impact our daily lives; he turns fantasies into realities; his thought experiments disrupt scientific norms; he gives us many of the indispensable tools we use today; and famous actresses and chanteuses clamor for his attention as powerful men desire to be his friend . . . all before an astonished world.

Yet all the while he keeps his own counsel, as he simultaneously struggles with the challenging consequences of bipolar disorder: flights of manic energy alternating with depressive depths of great despair. He shuns the clichés of a quotidian life, while forever seeking to “lift the burdens from the shoulders of mankind.”

©2022 Marko Perko and Stephen M. Stahl (P)2022 Rowman & Littlefield

Great Book! Horrible Performance.

This is the first review I've ever written, but I had to let potential customers know about this. I've never been quite so torn about an Audible book. The topic, content, analysis, and organization are outstanding. I've never listened to a "new style" biography that is part biography, part psychological analysis. It really made Nikola Tesla, the person, come alive.

Unfortunately, the narration/reading is the worst performance I have ever heard. I don't know if anyone listened to it before it was published, but the pronunciation of both proper names and certain words were a true distraction. Every time the narrator used the word "ask" or "asked", it was pronounced "axe" or "axed". Every. Single. Time. I'm 99% sure the German writer Goethe was pronounced "Gotha". The neighborhood in lower Manhattan was pronounced "Green-wich Village", and the street that runs east-west in lower Manhattan was pronounced as one the largest cities in Texas, "Huston Street" rather than "House-ton Street". There were many other mispronunciations, but you get the idea. I recommend the book very highly if you can take the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard narration.