Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World
Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
ISBN: 9780763679781
Read February 4, 2016
Candlewick Biography: excellent short bio, with notes and explanations of electrical systems.
Excellent work from the author and the illustrator to present a clear, straightforward, and kid-level biography of Tesla that doesn't shrink from some of the more grotesque elements of his career (yes, Edison's electrocution of an elephant to smear his rival makes it into both the text and the illustrations) nor from the more fantastical achievements (Tesla and Westinghouse's utterly ludicrous achievements at the Chicago World's Fair, despite (again) Edison's blockades).
The biography itself is already quite good, but the addition of sections afterwards make it even better. We have a spread "Ahead of his Time" talking about some of Tesla's more interesting (and some currently unrealized) ideas, and some of his concepts that were failures or were blocked by fears or by greed. Next up is a spread "Tesla vs. Edison: The Rivalry" that goes into a little more depth about the working relationships and conflicts between the two men, making their relationship a bit more nuanced than is immediately obvious in a kid-level text. Next comes an enormous "Scientific Notes" section that explains electricity, direct and alternating currents, and how magnets are related to electricity, illustrates and walks through the concepts behind a few basic mechanical electrical engines, talks about Tesla Coils and induction, and how the generator under Niagara Falls works. Finally a trio of research aides: an "Important Dates" page, a "Source Notes" page for direct quotes, and a "Select Biography and Further Reading" list, with books and films (!) listed as primary and secondary sources and for further information.
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