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1. I like the perspective and detail of the patent history within …
   This book is more in depth than it looks and I anticipate spending hours with it and in comparison to notes from other books which is what I think many of us do. I like the perspective and detail of the patent history within in. If a reader isn’t as detail oriented as I am the presentation format is wonderful, the photos and diagrams are wonderful. References to anything deemed person seem to be handled with discretion and class vs. tabloid presentation. This is going on my special collection shelf with my favorites and after recently wading through The Colorado Notes, The Life and Times and Empires of Light (which I would also recommend to all serious Tesla people) in addition to newspaper archives this is such a treat for the eyes. As with all things Tesla different people will be looking for different things and have their own perspectives, but I would recommend it.

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2. Eye Opener
   I really like the way the story is presented. I like the fold outs as well. It really makes you think when he follows Tesla’s travels and then his trips to the patent office. I’m very glad Tesla pushed for alternating current and the 50 to 60 cycles per second to allow dynamos to work. This makes you think that he didn’t do all of this by himself because of his trips to the “junk” piles behind other inventor’s labs. The exposure of him as being an unwanted guest at the hotel until his death is something I never heard about in any other book. This book makes him more human.

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3. Good read.
   Great read. Very interesting information about an intelligent man.

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4. Technical mistakes with polyphase power.
   I liked much of this book and it is pleasingly presented and nicely printed. Good pictures. Much of the book is devoted to electrical theory, rather than the story of Tesla, which is OK. But others have noted technical inaccuracies in that text. A particularly glaring error is that in several places the author states (for example on page 100), that each phase of a Tesla two phase motor operated on its own circuit, and required four wires, which is correct. But he then goes on to say that this system would require two generators, which is wrong. Two or three phases are generated within one machine, with the coils spaced at 90 or 120 electrical degrees. And, a balanced three phase machine does not require six wires, only three. However, the general point that the polyphase system required more wires than a DC system is correct.The two or three phases of a polyphase system must have a precise phase relationship, which is easily obtained with a single machine. Two or three separate generators would fall out of phase, unless they are on the same shaft, and what is the point of that, when the three phases can be easily obtained from one machine?

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5. Unfortunately a missed opportunity to substantiate an important thesis. Rushed agenda lead to big mistakes.
   I was excited to get this book as the thesis is true and Cooper appeared to take a more neutral ground between those who worship Tesla and those who oppose everything about him. The idea of this book is very much needed as few people have really read Tesla in his own context (chronologically) and in the context of his times (the many others before and around him whom he copied or improved upon). Failure to do this results in people finding themselves in one or the other extreme camp. Cooper does a lot of good to expose this and enlighten people. I have recommended this book to thousands of people for that reason. It is also well illustrated and full of useful information. As a publisher and researcher in this line of study I can see it took a lot of investment for this book to be produced.While I have not fully digested (fact checked) every part of it it I must say that Cooper does display more than an unhealthy bias against Tesla in several ways. Unfortunately this displays itself as a rush to prove a point here and there which demonstrates major mistakes. I will give one example that I just found today which shows how Cooper failed to read Tesla thoroughly, and in context, and in general. This I could already get a feel for in general that he really didn’t have experimental knowledge of the more exotic technology Tesla was known for. So when it came this mistake I could really see the extent of his mistakes.While deeply in the study of resonance I pointed out page 148 to a colleague today, where Cooper states around 1895 Tesla: “had the first inklings that resonance would be the key to achieving higher voltages with his wireless system.” His citations that follow are weak and then false, and between such he pokes and makes too much of Tesla’s having “an instinctive perception”. Cooper takes jabs at him and makes a very poor case for such an important and central theme with this research. He has justified his main thesis, but apparently gets carried away in the attack that he makes simple and general mistakes. He goes on to say that between the time Tesla filed the wireless patent in 1897 and 1900 when he added an amendment, he was in Colorado. And that he then added the paragraphs on resonance. So far this is evidence for his minor claim that resonance is new to Tesla during this time. But just before he slams others for their errors of dating the patent as from 1897, he makes his own glaring error in stating about wording removed in the final 1900 patent: “Gone was the assertion that “the frequency of the current is in large measure arbitrary.” The problem is it was and still is there just before the added paragraphs. I really do not know how he made this kind of mistake. The mistake itself is not as serious as the fact that he failed to know about what Tesla lectured on 8 years prior on this subject of resonance with one wire and wireless transfer of power and communications. The very detailed 1892 lecture completely contradict’s Coopers point here as it shows so many specifics that anyone working in such matters can see he was experimentally familiar with resonance in these matters. He states in the last sentence on Impedence that all the experiments previous have to be done in resonance. And then ends the lengthy section on Resonance with applying the same to wireless transmission. If it wasn’t for the importance of the subject matter I would not give these details. How can Cooper spend so much time on Tesla and miss such a fundamental point? Indeed most people do not understand Tesla technology today because they do not experimentally understand resonance. So I warn the reader that you cannot trust this research because it is biased and really misses a major point. The book will thus fail to gain the respect of the Tesla worshipers because of such mistakes and ignorance. And it will go to further the prejudice of those who see nothing important in Tesla. It is most unfortunate that this was not properly done. There is a lot of good in this book. But I am compelled to say that we cannot trust Cooper’s research or understanding of Tesla at heart. The Truth About Tesla is not actually true. The thesis is true that he copied many people 10 to 50 years before him, and even while others had just made discoveries. And on the positive side Tesla was a major mover and player and inventor himself. Unfortunately Cooper missed an opportunity to properly deliver these truths and now has added his own mistakes into the mix. The book has value but only if you are willing to fact check each point for yourself.

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6. Many color photos and a lot of information
   Great big coffee table style book with many colored photos and text. If you don’t know anything about Tesla you soon will. Kind of sounds like he was a bit of a nut job, and whether he actually solely “invented” his inventions.

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7. Interesting as always, ( Tesla’s)

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8. If you are a dyed-in-the-wool, fully blinkered Tesla fanatic, you won’t like this book as sacred cows are slain. If, like me, you have both an interest in Tesla and some knowledge of the historical development of electricity, electromagnetism, RF theory and its applications, you will probably have anticipated some of the author’s material.So this book should appeal to others, who will benefit from being introduced to some electrical theory and history of its development (by no means complete but a summary of the pertinent points) and how Tesla’s substantial contributions fit into that history and development. The author gives us an abridged precis of Tesla’s life, presumably because this has been covered in greater depth by others, notably by W Bernard Carlson and Marc Seifer (who provides a pleasantly surprising foreword). Don’t go complaining about how this book doesn’t cover his life in detail, it’s not meant to, the title is quite clear as to its intentions.The author discusses the benefits and vagaries of patent law, touches upon how history is often written by the victor (or their noisy advocates) and how these can produce an incomplete, imbalanced, inaccurate or sometimes plainly false version of events and facts. Just because someone goes to the effort of writing and publishing does not automatically mean their version of history is correct…This book leads up to the final chapter and afterword, how the mythology constructed about and around Tesla, lacks substance and doesn’t stand the scrutiny of crictical analysis. This book does not attack or trash his reputation, rather puts his successes and failures (technical and personal) into context. It is primarily about highlighting the inaccuracies (deliberate or unintentional) of others’ assertions about Tesla. If this book saves you from falling into the myriad of nonsense written about Tesla, you have spent your money well.However, I find this book comes up a little short, for me at least. Most of the substance of this book is within the final chapter and afterword, where the most obvious myths are busted and I don’t think really warrant a whole book to discuss. I think the author has slightly undersold the significance of Tesla’s experimantal contributions to RF component design, specifically his many versions of resonant circuits. There are many devices that make use of the principles of resonance and whilst Tesla didn’t succeed in producing and selling such products, he certainly laid the groundwork for them, though I don’t imagine Astor or Morgan would thank him for spending their money providing the foundations alone.I’m also a little disappointed that the author didn’t spend a little more time discussing the Tesla Coil (dual resonant transformer), since so much of the mythology around Tesla centers upon it. A litle more research into and understanding of resonant series and parallel LC’s (bandpass and bandstop filters) and how Tesla utilized them, would have been helpful. Maybe the author will provide us with another title on that subject in the future.

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9. I bought this book as I was interested in the biography of Tesla and his inventions. But this book did not meet my expectations. It has mostly general information in collection and tells why Tesla most often was wrong. No real biography about Tesla but some flashlights on his ideas.Surely not recommended of fans of Nikola Tesla searching for further information or starting points of own creativity based on his ideas and inventions.Can be used and recommended for people interested in some ideas about electricity and some inventions at the beginning of the 20th century

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10. Good book.

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