Evan I. Schwartz

Well I enjoyed this book at least. I love the fact it goes into theology and philosophy and the contentions with that and Oz. Something I would never make connections with myself unless someone explained things to me like this book does. I also like the fact that I learned things from this; I was expecting reading this for fun already knowing a bit about L. Frank Baum. I learned he and Susan B. Anthony have a connection other then being feminist. Baum's mother-in-law was close friends with and part of the suffragette movement with Anthony. Anthony was even invited to Baum's wedding but couldn't make it. Another cool fact (or I thought it was interesting at least) was that Baum was a chicken farmer, hence Billina's character in later books and the Nomes weakness.

Some of the parts ere interesting, but I wondered if they were more of the authors input. I do love all the connections Oz has with other things that were happening at that time. To me, Oz is Americana. Something I think people should read at once. Some of the stuff are dated, but works if you know about the time period. Of course most people only know about the classic movie, it a good movie, but that's not the whole Oz story.

My only two complaints I had were this was one briefly covering the other Oz books. I still want to know what made Baum decided to make Tip and Ozma the same character making it kind of odder reading the book today with the transgender movement. My other complaint is he referenced the movie too many times. I think once or twice is good, but he didn't even talk about Return to Oz which actually follows the books over other movies. He should had just stuck with the books maybe and briefly talked about the movie.

If you are a fan of not just the books but the history of the books and L. Frank Baum's life then I recommenced this book to you. Maybe if you like the movie too, but I would read the books before reading this. I would also recommend to read some Joseph Campbell too before reading this because he quotes that man a lot too (which is perfect). This book covers a lot and I'm not going into all of it, but like I said I enjoyed this book.… (mer)

Maybe a bit longer than it had to be, but still a fascinating story. I was impressed by Farnsworth's long commitment to developing television, after having the basic idea for an all-electronic device when just 14. Turning this into a commercial product was technically difficult, and also faced challenges from World War 2, from setting consumer standards, from expiring patents, ... His conflict with the entrenched radio patent monopoly RCA gave the story more plot and drama, and perhaps can impart some morals. Schwartz did good research on Farnsworth's life, including interviewing his 92 year-old widow.

> Farnsworth had hired the most gifted electrical engineers he could find. One of them, Archie "Arch" Brolly, had a degree from MIT, while another, Russell Varian, was a Stanford graduate who later developed an indispensable radar tube that helped win the Second World War. After the war, Varian became a famous pioneer of a new industrial zone called Silicon Valley.

> A young Berkeley scientist named Ernest Lawrence paid several visits. Lawrence was most fascinated with a device Farnsworth invented to boost the strength of his transmission signal. It was an electron multiplier, and it worked by bouncing electron beams inside a metal chamber, which dislodged more electrons from the metal plates, creating a feedback loop

> David Sarnoff yielded the podium to the leader of the free world. In dedicating what he called the "world’s fai-yah," Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to be televised. … Sarnoff was clearly taking credit for the invention in a way that Farnsworth knew he could never match, creating an impression that could never be erased. Sarnoff was doing this through the very power of television itself.

> In 1958, RCA entered into a landmark consent decree with the Justice Department, agreeing to license its color TV patents to any American set maker at no cost.

> John Kennedy had gone in, if not exactly an unknown, certainly the underdog, and he had come out looking a winner, while Richard Nixon had in one brief appearance squandered the advantage of eight years of the vice-presidency, and had come out looking a loser. The effect was so great that it was sixteen years before two presidential nominees again debated

> perpetual usage of all the remaining Farnsworth patents to RCA, GE, and Zenith for onetime royalty payments. All three firms accepted the offer, yielding a total of about $3 million, which put the Farnsworth Corporation just short of paying off its debt. With no more options, Nicholas moved to put the company up for sale … Farnsworth wanted to find a low-temperature or perhaps a split-second way to achieve fusion safely… (mer)

I love studying the history of science and seldom has a book on this topic read more like a novel. The young genius of Philo T. Farnsworth seems to be overflowing with ideas almost from birth. The timing is right for he comes of age just as the information age is being transformed from the print medium that ruled the nineteenth century to audio and video that will rule the twentieth century. Many men have laid claim to the title "The Father of Television," but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Farnsworth ended up a footnote in history yet he was the first to demonstrate an electronic process for scanning, transmitting and receiving moving images, a discovery that changed the way we live. Unfortunately Farnsworth, the "lone inventor", comes up against David Sarnoff the media mogul who uses his control over radio leverage the same control over the beginnings of television. Their battle is epic and Evan Schwartz tells the story so well that it kept me interested both through the discoveries and the disaster (for Farnsworth) that followed. Adding to my enjoyment was the opportunity to see a production of Aaron Sorkin's play, The Farnsworth Invention, based in part on Farnsworth's life.… (mer)