levishak 's review for:

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore
4.0

A most unique and interesting historical fiction work that was provacative and thoughtful. I enjoy books of this nature. I had no idea about the personality of Thomas Edison. I have visited his lab in New Jersey, and I knew he invented the light bulb and other mechanisms. That was where my knowledge--or lack thereof--ended. Who would have guessed he was obsessed with winning and being the "first". I should have realized this, based on the personalities of our current inventors. I never knew there was a Tesla. Fascinating, that the car is named for him. That makes sense. He envisioned a wireless phone? Way ahead of his time, though probably schizophrenic. Westinghouse is for me just a name of good products from my childhood. I believe my family's first black and white T.V. was a Westinghouse. My parents would have purchased something that would "last forever." I liked that each inventor had a strength and specific gift.
My only criticism is that some of the legal information about patents and litagation was boring to me; but that is me. I am sure most lawyers would be fascinated. I was intrigued how innovation, progress, and litagation seemed to go hand-in-hand, originating and increasing simultaneously. And that money became entrenched in the process of invention. Nothing has changed; nothing is new. Of course, I hated the scenes with the animals and people being electrocuted.
The writer wrote a few sentences or paragraphs throughout the book that were obviously from a 21st century way of thinking. I thought the author should have omitted those. Other than that, this is an excellent historical fiction book, full of colorful Americana.