'Thomas Edison' is a detailed and insightful account of the life and times of one of the greatest minds in American history, and suggests the unique ways in which Edison managed to accomplish one of the most coveted attainments in our human originality. What was it about Edison’s life and character that shaped him into one of the world’s most prolific inventors, and father of the phonograph, motion picture camera and electric lightbulb, to name a few of his greatest achievements? In this biography, David Boyle gives a revealing portrait of Edison’s life and temperament, and the events of the time that fostered his remarkable feats. Edison was, from childhood, a business mind and opportunist, having conducted a newspaper-selling business on the local railway as a boy. He applied this entrepreneurial instinct later in life, to the competitive business of patenting inventions and staying ahead of his fellow inventors. This enterprising predisposition was just one of the components to Edison’s remarkable genius. The inspiration that literally lit up the world was born, in part, out of Edison’s methodical approach to problem-solving, and relentless questioning. He realized it was not sufficient to observe that a method hadn’t worked; the valuable question was why? By quantifying his successes and failures, and constantly revisiting failures until they were resolved, Edison stayed ahead of the innovation game. It was his dogged determination to discover solutions that affected Edison’s marriage and home life, as his commitment to work was all too often at the expense of the familial kind. Boyle sheds light on why Edison was often seen as a difficult man, by his dejected first wife Mary Stilwell, his colleagues and competitors. Lesser known about Edison are his revolutionary ideas on the economy, and his condemnation of debt-based money and the subsequent interest rates incurred. Boyle reveals Edison’s proposals for economic reform; all the more poignant when reading in our age of national debt and failed money lending. David Boyle is a British author and journalist who writes mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business and culture. He lives in Crystal Palace, London. His books include 'Unheard Warfare in the Dardanelles', 'Towards the Setting The Race for America' and 'The Age to Come'.
Author
David Boyle is the author of Blondel’s Song: The Capture, Imprisonment and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart, and a series of books about history, social change and the future. His book Authenticity: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life helped put the search for authenticity on the agenda as a social phenomenon. The Tyranny of Numbers and The Sum of Our Discontent predicted the backlash against the government’s target culture. Funny Money launched the time banks movement in the UK. David is an associate of the new economics foundation, the pioneering think-tank in London, and has been at the heart of the effort to introduce time banks to Britain as a critical element of public service reform - since when the movement has grown to more than 100 projects in the UK. He is also the founder of the London Time Bank network and co-founder of Time Banks UK. He writes about the future of volunteering, cities and business. His work on the future of money has also been covered in books and pamphlets like Why London Needs its own Currency (nef, 2000), Virtual Currencies (Financial Times, 2000), The Money Changers: Currency reform from Aristotle to e-cash (Earthscan, 2002) and The Little Money Book (Alastair Sawday, 2003). He has written for many national newspapers and magazines, and edited a range of magazines including Town & Country Planning and Liberal Democrat News. He is the editor of Radical Economics. He lives in Crystal Palace, in south London, with Sarah and Robin (two years old). He is a member of the Federal Policy Committee of the Liberal Democrats and he stood for Parliament in Regents Park and Kensington North in 2001.
