Sign-In
Cart
Edison's Ghosts: The Untold Weirdness of History's Greatest Geniuses
Hardcover
HumorTechnology & Engineering20th Century United States History
Publisher Price: $29.00
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 0316529524
ISBN13: 9780316529525
Publisher: Little Brown & Co
Published: May 16 2023
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.15
Height: 1.20 Width: 6.30 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780316529525
Publisher: Little Brown & Co
Published: May 16 2023
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.15
Height: 1.20 Width: 6.30 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
Publishers Weekly Best Summer Reads
Overturn everything you knew about history's greatest minds in this raucous and hilarious book, where it turns out there's a finer line between genius and idiot than we've previously known. As Albert Einstein almost certainly never said, everyone is a genius - but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. So begins Katie Spalding's spunky takedown of the Western canon, and how genius may not be as irrefutably great as we commonly understand. While most of us may never become Einstein, it may surprise you to learn that there's probably a bunch of stuff you can do that Einstein couldn't. And, as Spalding shows, the famous prodigies she explores here were quite odd by any definition. For example:- Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, believed that he could communicate with the undead and built the world's very first hotline to heaven: the Spirit Phone.
- Marie and Pierre Curie, famous for discovering radioactivity, slept next to a lump of radioactive material for years and strapped it to their arms to watch it burn them in real-time.
- Lord Byron, acclaimed British poet, literally took a bear with him to university.
- Isaac Newton discovered the laws of gravity and motion, but he also looked up at the sun without eye protection. The result? Three days of blindness.
- Tesla, whose scientific work led to the invention of the AC unit, fell in love with a pigeon.
Edison's Ghosts is filled with examples of the so-called best of humanity doing, to put it bluntly, some really dumb shit. You'll discover stories that deserve to be told but never are: the hilarious, regrettable, and downright bafflingly lesser-known achievements that never made it into our history books, until now.
Also in
Technology & Engineering
Musashi's Book of Five Rings: The Definitive Interpretation of Miyamoto Musashi's Classic Book of Strategy
Musashi, Miyamoto
Kaufman, Stephen F.
Paperback
$13.25
Rise of the Mavericks: The U.S. Air Force Security Service and the Cold War
Shackelford, Philip Clayton
Hardcover
$34.95
U.S. Naval Power in the 21st Century: A New Strategy for Facing the Chinese and Russian Threat
Sadler, Brent D.
Hardcover
$39.95
The Lightning Tamers: True Stories of the Dreamers and Schemers Who Harnessed Electricity and Transformed Our World
Joseph, Kathy
Hardcover
$24.69
Code of Practice for Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems
The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Paperback
$91.00
When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach
Vance, Ashlee
Hardcover
$31.50
The Lightning Tamers: True Stories of the Dreamers and Schemers Who Harnessed Electricity and Transformed Our World
Joseph, Kathy
Paperback
$17.09
Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration
Heisman, Rebecca
Hardcover
$27.00
Code of Practice for Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems: Design, Specification, Installation, Commissioning, Operation and Maintenance
The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Paperback
$91.00
Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond: Safe, Easy Recipes for Preserving Tomatoes, Vegetables, Beans and Meat
Schneider, Angi
Paperback
$22.79
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Higginbotham, Adam
Paperback
$19.94
The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans
Hammack, Bill
Hardcover
$25.64
The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology
Farahany, Nita A.
Hardcover
$28.49
Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
Crawford, Kate
Paperback
$17.10
How Data Happened: A History from the Age of Reason to the Age of Algorithms
Wiggins, Chris
Jones, Matthew L.
Hardcover
$28.50
Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew
Leinbach, Michael D.
Ward, Jonathan H.
Paperback
$18.04
Bomb (Graphic Novel): The Race to Build--And Steal--The World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Sheinkin, Steve
Hardcover
$23.74
Wings of War: The World War II Fighter Plane That Saved the Allies and the Believers Who Made It Fly
White, Margaret Stanback
White, David Fairbank
Hardcover
$27.55
Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less
Epstein, Alex
Hardcover
$28.50
Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment
Hillhouse, Grady
Hardcover
$37.99
Electroculture - The Application of Electricity to Seeds in Vegetable Growing
Carr Bennett, Alexander
Paperback
$13.30
Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving
Bentley, Ross
Paperback
$33.25
Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity
Acemoglu, Daron
Johnson, Simon
Hardcover
$28.80
No Miracles Needed: How Today's Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air
Jacobson, Mark Z.
Paperback
$14.20
The Art and Science of Foodpairing: 10,000 Flavour Matches That Will Transform the Way You Eat
Langenbick, Johan
Coucquyt, Peter
Lahousse, Bernard
Hardcover
$47.45
Nineteen Reservoirs: On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City
Sante, Lucy
Hardcover
$23.70
The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants
Bakker, Karen
Hardcover
$31.35
Bladesmithing From Scrap Metal: How to Make Knives With Leaf Springs, Saw Blades, Railroad Spikes, and Files
Sander, Wes
Paperback
$13.27
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2, 2nd Edition: Water-Harvesting Earthworks
Lancaster, Brad
Paperback
$47.45
Sustaining the Carrier War: The Deployment of U.S. Naval Air Power to the Pacific
Fisher, Stan
Hardcover
$32.95
The Vegetable Garden Problem Solver Handbook: Identify and Manage Diseases and Other Common Problems on Edible Plants
Mulvihill, Susan
Paperback
$27.54
Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead
Bock, Laszlo
Paperback
$18.99
30 Animals That Made Us Smarter: Stories of the Natural World That Inspired Human Ingenuity
Aryee, Patrick
Paperback
$23.75
The Titanium Economy: How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America
Santhanam, Nick
Padhi, Asutosh
Batra, Gaurav
Hardcover
$27.55
Mobile Solar Power Made Easy!: Mobile 12 volt off grid solar system design and installation. RV's, Vans, Cars and boats! Do-it-yourself step by step
Prowse, William Errol, IV
Paperback
$5.39
At the Base of the Giant's Throat: The Past and Future of America's Great Dams
Palumbi, Anthony R.
Hardcover
$33.20
Wild Clay: Creating Ceramics and Glazes from Natural and Found Resources
Levy, Matt
Shibata, Takuro
Shibata, Hitomi
Hardcover
$38.00
Florida DMV Driver's Handbook: Practice for the Florida Permit Test with 350+ Driving Questions and Answers
Prep, Discover
Paperback
$10.35
CDL: Commercial Driver's License Truck Driver's Test, Fifth Edition: Comprehensive Subject Review + Practice
Mike Byrnes and Associates
Paperback
$21.84
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
Mealer, Bryan
Kamkwamba, William
Paperback
From $8.99
The E-Myth HVAC Contractor: Why Most HVAC Companies Don't Work and What to Do About It
Goodrich, Ken
Gerber, Michael E.
Hardcover
$34.95
How To Weld Scrap Metal Art: 30 Easy Welding Projects You Can Make At Home
The Welder, Barbie
Paperback
$24.95
Beginning Autocad(r) 2023 Exercise Workbook: For Windows(r)
Shrock, Cheryl R.
Heather, Steve
Paperback
$74.95
forgot password: A great book to keep all confidential info handy for websites/usernames/passwords with tabs alphabetical A-Z
Henderson, Maya Lp
Paperback
$5.95
Machinery's Handbook & the Guide Combo: Large Print
Oberg, Erik
Jones, Franklin D.
Horton, Holbrook
Hardcover
$199.95
The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook
Haugen, Frances
Hardcover
$28.50
A Field Guide to Whisky: An Expert Compendium to Take Your Passion and Knowledge to the Next Level
Offringa, Hans
Hardcover
$23.75
U.S. Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare: Devices and Techniques for Incendiaries
Department of the Army
Paperback
$12.30
Tesla: Wizard at War: The Genius, the Particle Beam Weapon, and the Pursuit of Power
Seifer, Marc
Hardcover
$26.60
First Phone: A Child's Guide to Digital Responsibility, Safety, and Etiquette
Pearlman, Catherine
Paperback
$14.25
The Art of War: The Essential Translation of the Classic Book of Life (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Sun-Tzu
Paperback
From $10.99
How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon: The Story of the 19th-Century Innovators Who Forged Our Future
Morus, Iwan Rhys
Hardcover
$28.45
The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can't Think the Way We Do
Larson, Erik J.
Paperback
$18.95
ASVAB Study Guide Premium: 6 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Duran, Terry L.
Paperback
$25.64
Six Sigma: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide: A Complete Training & Reference Guide for White Belts, Yellow Belts, Green Belts, and B
Council for Six Sigma Certification
Setter, Craig Joseph
Hardcover
$94.05
Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
Crawford, Kate
Hardcover
$29.45
Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats
Shanker, Thom
Hoehn, Andrew
Hardcover
$28.50
Texas DMV Driver's Handbook: Practice for the Texas Permit Test with 350+ Driving Questions and Answers
Prep, Discover
Paperback
$10.35
PLC Controls with Structured Text (ST), V3: IEC 61131-3 and best practice ST programming
Antonsen, Tom Mejer
Paperback
$35.90