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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Historical fiction is not always my jam. I've abandoned my fair share of dramatized versions of the past, whether they be categorized as non-fiction or historical fiction, including Dead Wake which nearly caused me to fall asleep while driving on multiple occasions until I abandoned it, and The Boys in the Boat, which was so slow paced I also bailed on it. Ha, boat- bailed, ha. Anyway, not always my thing.
I read the author's note at the end, so I know how much creative license the author took. And to that I say "thank you, sir, that was awesome!" Because adding Agnes all throughout the story was such a great move, and the many interactions with Tesla - all of that made it into a compelling story. I'm a lawyer, and I've read plenty of stories about lawyers and lawsuits, real and fiction. They are seldom as interesting as this. And the characters, well, Cravath wasn't perfect, but he certainly was the most likable lawyer in the book. The rest were scary caricatures. Patent law sounds unduly tedious and annoying, and this book does nothing to dispel that myth.
The depths to which Edison and Westinghouse would go to "beat" each other was shocking and despicable and scary, but also probably realistic. The brutal attempted (and eventual) execution via electric chair was one of the cases we had to read about in law school, as botched electrocutions were the basis for a Constitutional challenge to the death penalty as "cruel and unusual punishment." If you're a fan of reading about the horrors of executions (and lawyers who fight against them), I recommend Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, a non-fiction account of a lawyer who has appealed death sentences for decades in the South.
I know that this is touted as a book about scientists, but it really is about the role of law in innovation and business in our system. To most people, Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla are the huge innovators in this story, but as the author pointed out, Cravath was also an innovator. He "invented" the modern law firm, and founded one of the biggest firms in the United States, even calling it the "Cravath System." The nod to the young Henry Ford at the end spoke to this innovation as well. I don't know that lawyers came off as really awesome people and the clear heroes of this story. Oh well, more realistic that way.
I did like the focus on innovation and the modern approach of teams of researchers working on developments, rather than a single scientist tinkering in a basement lab. I drive past 3M headquarters on my commute some days, and that company's focus is on innovation. They "invented" the Post-it Note, Scotch Guard, etc. But note, it's the company, not individual people, who are credited with these inventions for hire. Is it the "right thing" for an inventor, or the company who funds the invention, to have an exclusive right to a product for a period of time, or does that prevent future developments? Tesla has his opinion, and others have certainly played Edison and Westinghouse (and Bell's) race to patent game. I'm so glad that is not my field of law, as it sounds awful. But it did make for an interesting book.
I read the author's note at the end, so I know how much creative license the author took. And to that I say "thank you, sir, that was awesome!" Because adding Agnes all throughout the story was such a great move, and the many interactions with Tesla - all of that made it into a compelling story. I'm a lawyer, and I've read plenty of stories about lawyers and lawsuits, real and fiction. They are seldom as interesting as this. And the characters, well, Cravath wasn't perfect, but he certainly was the most likable lawyer in the book. The rest were scary caricatures. Patent law sounds unduly tedious and annoying, and this book does nothing to dispel that myth.
The depths to which Edison and Westinghouse would go to "beat" each other was shocking and despicable and scary, but also probably realistic. The brutal attempted (and eventual) execution via electric chair was one of the cases we had to read about in law school, as botched electrocutions were the basis for a Constitutional challenge to the death penalty as "cruel and unusual punishment." If you're a fan of reading about the horrors of executions (and lawyers who fight against them), I recommend Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, a non-fiction account of a lawyer who has appealed death sentences for decades in the South.
I know that this is touted as a book about scientists, but it really is about the role of law in innovation and business in our system. To most people, Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla are the huge innovators in this story, but as the author pointed out, Cravath was also an innovator. He "invented" the modern law firm, and founded one of the biggest firms in the United States, even calling it the "Cravath System." The nod to the young Henry Ford at the end spoke to this innovation as well. I don't know that lawyers came off as really awesome people and the clear heroes of this story. Oh well, more realistic that way.
I did like the focus on innovation and the modern approach of teams of researchers working on developments, rather than a single scientist tinkering in a basement lab. I drive past 3M headquarters on my commute some days, and that company's focus is on innovation. They "invented" the Post-it Note, Scotch Guard, etc. But note, it's the company, not individual people, who are credited with these inventions for hire. Is it the "right thing" for an inventor, or the company who funds the invention, to have an exclusive right to a product for a period of time, or does that prevent future developments? Tesla has his opinion, and others have certainly played Edison and Westinghouse (and Bell's) race to patent game. I'm so glad that is not my field of law, as it sounds awful. But it did make for an interesting book.
Read this for a book group. Would not have picked it up on my own, but it was pretty interesting. I didn't know anything about the "current wars," and if this book is anything close to historically accurate (and I believe that in essentials it is), then these people were just bad men! Cheating, back-stabbing, lying, even murdering over money, ideas, production of stuff (mainly lightbulbs), but mostly over money and ego. Thomas Edison was just not a nice guy! Neither was Westinghouse or his lawyer. And Nikola Tesla was one very strange bird. Gives you something to think about every time you turn on a light.
What kept me from rating it higher was that there are long stretches of quite tedious description/discourse/narrative that don't really add anything and which make the book too long. This story could have been told much more effectively in about 100 fewer pages. I was interested enough, nevertheless, to go get Moore's previous book, The Sherlockian from the library.
What kept me from rating it higher was that there are long stretches of quite tedious description/discourse/narrative that don't really add anything and which make the book too long. This story could have been told much more effectively in about 100 fewer pages. I was interested enough, nevertheless, to go get Moore's previous book, The Sherlockian from the library.
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
A really interesting imaging of what could have happened surrounding the true events of the invention of the light bulb. In school, major breakthroughs in invention sound so straight-forward. I think this book is probably closer to the truth. I found the story well told and the characters, and their motivations, were complex and sometimes unexpected. I've never read anything by Graham Moore before. His smooth, clear style make me want to try another.
A really interesting imaging of what could have happened surrounding the true events of the invention of the light bulb. In school, major breakthroughs in invention sound so straight-forward. I think this book is probably closer to the truth. I found the story well told and the characters, and their motivations, were complex and sometimes unexpected. I've never read anything by Graham Moore before. His smooth, clear style make me want to try another.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes