Author: David J. Kent

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler, scientist, and Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of books on Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln. His website is www.davidjkent-writer.com.
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Oh What a Year (aka, Tesla Rules!)

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David J. Kent, Science TravelerIt seems like January 2013 was a blink away, but somehow an entire year has passed and that blink away is now January 2014. But oh what a year it was. A year of transitions, a year of excitement, and even a year with some major anxieties. But it is a year I will always remember – the year of Tesla.

Tesla – The Wizard of 2013!

The obvious hallmark was the release of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. Nine months after it had been accepted by the publisher the book finally hit the stores in July 2013. Prominently displayed on shelves at Barnes and Noble entrances, many stores quickly sold out and reordered. Even after the warehouse was empty the books continued to sell, limited only by people’s ability to locate them. By the end of the year we had sold out almost the entire (large) first printing. Even better, a second printing of double the initial run is due out July 2014.

[Off-] Broadway Bound!

The success of Tesla has had another benefit – all the great people I’ve met. Besides Nikola, Sherry, Sam and many others with the Tesla Science Foundation, there are the great folks at Tesla Ambassadors and other Facebook groups. I even got to meet Mr. William H. Terbo, the only living relative of Nikola Tesla. Mr. Terbo is the grand-nephew and actually met Tesla himself when he was ten years old. Another highlight of the year was being invited to speak to the cast of the off-Broadway play, TESLA, then attending opening night of the wildly successful show. Sanja Bestic as director and Sheri Graubert as writer worked so well as a team that they have another show coming out this spring – Jackie and Marilyn. I can’t wait.

Even the bad things worked out!

Of course, there were some downer parts of the year too. Most notably my father’s aneurysm surgery in February turned out to be more dramatic than expected. I’m happy to say that after having several aorta re-plumbed, a series of strokes and seizures, four days of coma, no movement on one side for a few more days, and months of rehab, Dad is doing very well. Meanwhile, the toxicity of my own work environment finally led to the decision to leave my long-standing scientific career and become a full-time writer. Notwithstanding the sudden lack of income, it was a great decision. It’s even been good for my health – after putting on weight in the spring I’ve dropped 10 pounds and live a much healthier lifestyle.

Science Traveler alert!

Along the way I managed to squeeze in a little bit of travel, including several trips to my home town for family events, four times to New York City for writing/Tesla events, a road trip to Tennessee, and even a quick weekend in Jamaica. Travel will get more emphasis in 2014, starting with a trip to NYC in January and to Argentina in February. Summer may bring me to the west coast and/or Moscow and/or Iceland and/or a country to be named later. I’ll be posting much more on travel (and aquariums) this coming year as Science Traveler starts catching up to its moniker.

150 Years of Abraham Lincoln!

Not to be forgotten is Abraham Lincoln. As a member of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia I’ve had the privilege of joining monthly dinners with some of the most knowledgeable Lincolnophiles in the area. And since each dinner has a guest speaker, I’ve met Lincoln scholars such Douglas L. Wilson, Walter Stahr, and many others. [Eric Foner will receive the Lincoln Award from us in January 2014] One of my most cherished activities of this past year has been the monthly Lincoln Group book club. We’ve been reading the version of Herndon’s Lincoln edited by the aforementioned Doug Wilson and his colleague Rodney O. Davis. Having the combined expertise and insights of the dozen or so group members – all Lincoln scholars – is priceless.

My Presidency Ends!

With all this going on I somehow managed to perform my duties as President of the Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. This was my second go-around as President (the first was in 2001), and I’ve loved every minute of my involvement. As I hand over the Presidency to this year’s VP, Brad Pratt, I’ll remain as a Contributing Editor to the CPRC newsletter and an active Past-President.

Reading is Fundamental!

And then there were the books. As has been my norm in recent years I’ve finished reading about 60 books this year. Because of research for my next book, at least a dozen were Abraham Lincoln-related. But there were also many on Nikola Tesla, some great memoirs, and the trade of writing/publishing. I even read a half dozen fiction books (a rarity for me). Better yet, I was able to read some great books by authors I know personally, most notably Thomas Waite, R.C. (Chuck) Larlham, and Sam Hawksworth. Check them out.

All in all, 2013 was a very good year. I’m looking forward to an even better 2014, where I’ll meet more great people, do more great travel, and write more great books (and yes, I’ll shortly have more info on my Tesla book due out in the spring).

See you all again soon…and Happy New Year!!

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Mini Book Review – The Crater by John Cannan

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Abraham LincolnI hope everyone is having a great holiday break. I’ll be back with more on Nikola Tesla later, but here’s a mini book review of The Crater by John Cannan (just published on Goodreads).

Author John Cannan brings us into what became a disastrous assault by Union forces on the Confederate fortifications at Petersburg, Virginia in June 1864. A dubious idea from the beginning – explode 8000 pounds of gunpowder in a mine dug under the Confederate positions, then rush into the crater – the animosity between Generals Burnside and Meade assured the idea would turn out to be poorly executed. Cannan does an excellent job giving us an inside view of the communications between the two commanders and their subordinates, the faulty design, the insanity of sending brigade after brigade into what amounted to a dead end, and the inevitable conclusion. Brief, but informative, the book provides a good introduction to what Ulysses S. Grant would later call “a stupendous failure.”

Click here for more book reviews!

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David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores late summer 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

 

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An Abraham Lincoln (and Nikola Tesla) Christmas

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In 1834, as an Illinois legislator, the 25-year-old Abraham Lincoln voted against closing the state government on Christmas day. He felt that elected officials should keep the day a workday “because he felt he would be wasting taxpayers’ money if he took the day off.” Later when he was in the White House he sent no Christmas cards and set up no Christmas tree.

Shocking? Not really. Back then Christmas was a normal working day in most of the United States. Government offices and most businesses were open. Christmas didn’t become a national holiday until President Ulysses S. Grant signed a congressional bill into law. That was in 1870. For those that are interested, David Frum, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, provides some fascinating insights into why Christmas wasn’t celebrated by the government. Now, of course, the White House has jumped on the bandwagon and issues annual Christmas ornaments.

Abraham Lincoln Christmas Ornament 1999 Abraham-Lincoln-Cameo-Ornament-2013

 

 

 

 

That’s not to say that Christmas wasn’t important. In fact, Christmas was getting a lot of press in the 1850s, which is one of the reasons why Grant did what he did. The brutality of the Civil War also played a role in the resurgence of Christmas in American life. Ironically, it was the non-religious aspects of Christmas that saw the biggest growth during this period. Not the least of which was the popularization of Santa Claus.

While Santa may have had some origins in St. Nicholas and other regional folklore, he evolved into the jolly old elf we know today thanks in large part to Thomas Nast, a prolific illustrator and cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly magazine. It was Nast who first introduced Santa Claus (aka, Father Christmas) – as a recruiting tool for the Union army! One iconic image from the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper’s, has Santa “on a sleigh handing out packages to Union soldiers in Civil War camp.”

Thomas Nast 1863 Christmas

So Santa became propaganda rallying behind the Union war effort. The South used this to their advantage as well, telling children that those evil Yankees might block Santa’s route from the North Pole down to Confederate territory. This, of course, was long before Coca-Cola turned Santa into a soft drink marketing campaign and Hallmark made a fortune selling Christmas cards.

There was one rather important Christmas celebration for Abraham Lincoln. General William Tecumseh Sherman, who had been decimating a path toward the sea throughout the fall of 1864, wired Lincoln in the White House on December 22nd. The wire said:

“I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah.”

He also had captured “150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition,” along with “about 25,000 bales of cotton.” An ecstatic Lincoln replied with “many, many, thanks for your Christmas gift.” As devastating was Sherman’s destruction during his march, it helped bring the war to an end a few months later.

I can’t leave without also bringing you Christmas greetings from Nikola Tesla. Here’s a brief video to get you started.

Want more? Check out these photos and videos of Christmas trees made from Tesla coils.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from me and Science Traveler. Watch for much, much more in the new year. [Hint – 2014 is going to be exciting!]

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions for 2013

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Ford's Theatre Lincoln book towerThere are over 15,000 books that have been written about Abraham Lincoln. At least that’s the number that is bandied about whenever someone talks about Lincoln books. Whether that number includes books about the Civil War or just books focused on Lincoln himself is also in question. In any case, I have over 800 titles, with more than 95% specific to the man, not the war.

Over the course of this past year I’ve obtained 98 titles. A few more than usual are Civil War-centric because of research I’ve been doing for a forthcoming book, along with random availability. The books represent a wide range of publication dates and topics of study. General Halleck’s definitive 1862 treatise, Elements of Military Art and Science, which Lincoln rabidly consulted, and an 1895 edition of John A. Logan’s The Great Conspiracy (in which he argues the South had long planned secession), are both new acquisitions this year. More recent tomes include the 2013 books: Lincoln ‘by littles,’ by Lewis E. Lehrman; Lincoln Unbound, by Rich Lowry; and Congressman Lincoln, by Chris DeRose.

Classic Lincoln scholars like William Herndon, Herbert Mitgang, Ida Tarbell, and Carl Sandburg are represented, as are modern experts like Harold Holzer, Gabor Boritt, Catherine Clinton, and Douglas L. Wilson.

The latter, Douglas L. Wilson, and his colleague Rodney O. Davis, have done Abraham Lincoln scholars an invaluable service by editing Herndon’s Lincoln. Along with their companion works, Herndon’s Informants and a forthcoming book on Herndon’s letters, Wilson and Davis have not only presented the classic book by Lincoln’s law partner, they’ve enhanced its value as a research tool. Herndon’s Lincoln is the subject of our Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia book club reading right now, so I’ll have more on this topic later.

I have plans for a major undertaking that I’ll discuss in the future, but for now I’ve appended the full list of 2013 acquisitions to the bottom of this post for those who want to take a look.

David J. Kent is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

Here’s the list!

Anderson, Dwight G. Abraham Lincoln: The Quest for Immortality 1982
Barber, Lucius W. Army Memoirs of Lucius W. Barber, Company “D,” 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantrym May 24, 1861 to Sept. 30, 1865 1894
Berg, Scott W. 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier’s End 2012
Boritt, Gabor The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows 2006
Boritt, Gabor S. (ed) The Lincoln Enigma: The Changing Faces of an American Icon 2001
Boothe, F. Norton Great Generals of the Civil War and Their Battles 1986
Bowman, John S. The Civil War Day By Day: An Illustrated Almanac of America’s Bloodiest War 1989
Brandt, Nat The Town That Started the Civil War 1990
Briggs, John Channing Lincoln’s Speeches Reconsidered 2005
Brown, William Wells The Negro in the American Rebellion: His Heroism and His Fidelity 1971
Brownstein, Elizabeth Smith If This House Could Talk 1999
Brownstein, Elizabeth Smith Lincoln’s Other White House: The Untold Story of the Man and His Presidency 2005
Bush, Bryan S. Lincoln and the Speeds: The Untol Story of a Devoted and Enduring Friendship 2008
Cannan, John The Crater: Burnside’s Assault on the Confederate Trenches, June 30, 1864 2002
Campbell, R. Thomas Gray Thunder: Exploits of the Confederate States Navy 1996
Catton, Bruce The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War 1960
Catton, Bruce The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln’s Army 1962
Catton, Bruce The Army of the Potomac: Glory Road 1952
Catton, Bruce The Army of the Potomac: A Stillness at Appomattox 1953
Catton, Bruce Gettysburg: The Final Fury 1974
Clinton, Catherine Mrs. Lincoln: A Life 2009
Cooling, Benjamin Franklin, III and Walton H. Owen, II Mr. Lincoln’s Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington 1988
Cornwell, Bernard Battle Flag 1995
Cromie, Alice A Tour Guide to the Civil War: The Complete State-by-State Guide to Battlegrounds, Landmarks, Museums, Relics, and Sites (3rd Edition, Revised) 1990
Davis, William C. Rebels & Yankees: The Commanders of the Civil War 1990
Delbanco, Andrew (Ed) The Portable Abraham Lincoln 1992
DeRose, Chris Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Greatest President 2013
Deutsch, Kenneth L. and Fornieri, Joseph R. (Eds) Lincoln’s American Dream: Clashing Political Perspectives 2005
Duffy, James P. Lincoln’s Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut 2006
Ecelbarger, Gary The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination 2008
Eliot, Alexander Abraham Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography 1985
Eliot, Alexander Abraham Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography 1985
Epstein, Daniel Mark The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage 2008
Findley, Paul A. Lincoln: The Crucible of Congress 1979
Fletcher, George P. Our Secret Constitution: How Lincoln Redefined American Democracy 2001
Gary W. Gallagher (Ed) Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander 1989
Gary, Ralph Following in Lincoln’s Footsteps: A Complete Annotated Reference to Hundreds of Historical Sites Visited by Abraham Lincoln 2001
Halleck, Henry Wager Elements of Military Art and Science 1862
Hartwig, D. Scott To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 2012
Haythornthwaite, Philip Unforms of the Civil War in Color 1990
Henderson, G.F.R., C.B. Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War 1993
Henig, Gerald S. and Niderost, Eric Civil War Firsts: The Legacies of America’s Bloodiest Conflict 2001
Herndon, William H. and Weik, Jesse William Herndon’s Life of Lincoln 1943
Hicks, Brian and Kropf, Schuyler Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine 2002
Hirsch, David and Van Haften, Dan Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and the Structure of Reason 2012
Holzer, Harold Lincoln: President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861 2008
Holzer, Harold and the New York Historical Society The Civil War in 50 Objects 2013
Illinois Central Railroad Company Abraham Lincoln As Attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad Company 1905
Jahns, Patricia Matthew Fontaine Maury & Joseph Henry: Scientists of the Civil War 1961
Jahns, Patricia Joseph Henry: Father of American Electronics 1970
Jordan, Robert Paul The Civil War 1969
Keneally, Thomas Abraham Lincoln 2003
Knauer, Kelly (Ed) Abraham Lincoln An Illustrated History of His Life and Times 2012
Kostyal, K.M. Field of Battle: The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas J. Halsey 1996
Kushner, Tony Lincoln: The Screenplay 2012
Lachman, Charles The Last Lincolns: The Rise & Fall of a Great American Family 2008
Lamon, Ward H. The Life of Abraham Lincoln; From His Birth to his Inauguration as President (Illustrated Edition) 2013
Lee, Richard M. Mr. Lincoln’s City: An Illustrated Guide to the Civil War Sites of Washington 1981
Lehrman, Lewis E. Lincoln “by littles” 2013
Lewis, Lloyd The Assassination of Lincoln: History and Myth 1994
Lind, Michael What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America’s Greatest President 2004
Livingston, Mary P. (Ed) A Civil War Marine at Sea: The Diary of Medal of Honor Recipient Miles M. Oviatt 1998
Logan, John A. The Great Conspiracy: Its Origin and History 1895
Long, E.B. with Barbara Long The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac: 1861-1865 1971
Lowry, Rich Lincoln Unbound: How an Ambitious Young Railsplitter Save the American Dream – And How We Can Do It Again 2013
Marvel, William (ed) The Monitor Chronicles: One Sailor’s Account: Today’s Campaign to Recover the Civil War Wreck 2000
MCPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era 1988
McPherson, James M. The Negro’s Civil War: How American Blacks Felt and Acted During the War for the Union 1991
Menge, W. Springer and Shimrak, J. August The Civil War Notebook of Daniel Chisholm: A Chronicle of Daily Life in the Union Army 1864-1865 1989
Meredith, Roy Mr. Lincoln’s Camera Man: Mathew B. Brady 1974
Milton, George Fort Abraham Lincoln and the Fifth Column 1942
Mitgang, Herbert The Fiery Trial: A Life of Lincoln 1974
Mitgang, Herbert (ed) Abraham Lincoln: A Press Portrait 1971
Monaghan, Jay The Man Who Elected Lincoln 1956
Moore, Edward A. The Story of a Cannoneer Under Stonewall Jackson 1907
Morse, John T. On Becoming Abraham Lincoln: From the 1893 Biography 2008
Musicant, Ivan Divided Waters: The Naval History of the Civil War 1995
Neely, Mark E. Jr. The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America 1993
Nesbitt, Mark Ghosts of Gettysburg: Spirits, Apparitions and Haunted Places of the Battlefield 1991
Nofi, Albert A. (Compiler) A Civil War Journal: A Fascinating Collection of Facts, Episodes & Anecdotes 1995
Prokopowicz, Gerald J. Did Lincoln Own Slaves? And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Abraham Lincoln 2008
Redkey, Edwin S. (Ed) A Grand Army of Black Men 1992
Sandburg, Carl Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years 1954
Sandburg, Carl Storm Over the Land: A Profile of the Civil War 1939, 1942
Schwartz, Gerald (Ed) A Woman Doctor’s Civil War: Esther Hill Hawks’ Diary 1984
Scripps, John Locke Vote Lincoln! The Presidential Campaign Biography of Abraham Lincoln, 1860 2010
Simson, Jay W. Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism 2001
Spiegel, Allen D. A. Lincoln: Esquire: A Shrewd, Sophisticated Lawyer in His Time 2002
Splaine, John A Companion to the Lincoln Douglas Debates 1994
Still, William N., Jr., Taylor, John M., and Delaney, Norman C. Raiders and Blockaders: The American Civil War Afloat 1998
Styple, William B. (Ed) Tell Me of Lincoln: Memories of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War & Life in Old New York by James E. Kelly 2009
Swanson, James L. Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer 2006
Tarbell, Ida M. The Life of Abraham Lincoln 1924
Wert, Jeffry D. The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac 2005
Wideman, John C. Naval Warfare: Courage and Combat on the Water 1997
Wilson, Douglas L. Herndon’s Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln 1998
Winkler, H. Donald Lincoln’s Ladies: The Women in the Life of the Sixteenth President 2004
Wynalda, Stephen A. 366 Days in Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency: The Private, Political, and Military Decisions of America’s Greatest President 2010
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Book Review – [Abraham] Lincoln and the Tools of War by Robert V. Bruce

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Abraham LincolnAs I do research on Abraham Lincoln for a forthcoming book I periodically post reviews of some of the more interesting and relevant Lincoln scholarship. Which led me to this great book dating back to 1956 called Lincoln and the Tools of War by Robert V. Bruce.

This is a fascinating book. Bruce has done an excellent job documenting Lincoln’s interest in new weaponry and the trials and tribulations of outfitting the Union troops and navy during the Civil War.

The book uses two main characters as counterweights to that of Abraham Lincoln in the seemingly never ending search for weapons that would help the North defeat the South.  As the war came quickly, sufficient weapons were not available to outfit the hundreds of thousands of men who at first volunteered, and then were drafted, to fight. Captain (and later Admiral) Dahlgren ran the Washington Navy Yard and was often eager to test new guns, artillery, and “liquid fire.” At the same time, General Ripley was the foil, acting to slow the testing and implementation of new weapons. He ignored and turned away inventors who had discovered “the next best thing,” even as President Lincoln entertained and even took an active interest in testing and pushing the development of modern weapons to replace the old single shot muskets.

Bruce weaves an entertaining story as he documents what many don’t know, which is that Lincoln facilitated the process of replacing the muzzle-loading gun with breech-loading rifles. The breech-loading allowed speedier reloading with less danger and less jamming, while the rifling allowed greater distance and accuracy in firing. Lincoln helped get such guns as the “coffee mill gun” and other multishot guns that would eventually develop into what we know as “machine guns” into testing, and sometimes service.  He entertained and facilitated many inventors in the White House for such things as rockets, steam guns, liquid fire, explosive bullets, and new cannons. There even was a balloon air force, a submarine and, of course, the “iron clad” ships.

I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Lincoln, the Civil War, or weaponry in general. Unlike many books this old, it was published as a Civil War Book Club edition so readers should be able to find it easily and for a reasonable price in the usual online used book databases.

David J. Kent is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

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Tesla Commemorative Conference 2014 – Let’s Build a Tesla Curriculum

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Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla lived out the final ten years of his life in the New Yorker Hotel. Each year the Tesla Science Foundation and the New Yorker Hotel host a Tesla Commemorative Conference. The 2014 event will be held on Saturday, January 11th and includes a discussion on building a Tesla curriculum for schools, along with a wide range of Tesla-inspired technical presentations. The goal is to help bring the world of Nikola Tesla to a wider audience.

That is the goal of my book. One of the most gratifying responses to Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has been the number of people who say they believe the book would be a wonderful addition to the curricula of schools ranging from middle school, high school, and even undergraduate college. Many people have told me that they are buying an extra copy of the book specifically to donate it to their local school or public library.

The need for such a book has been obvious. Traditionally the Tesla book market has been split between three categories – highly technical reprints of Tesla’s papers and patents, long scholarly studies of Tesla’s life, and books aimed at children or very young teenagers.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has successfully appealed to a broader middle audience. The book includes many photographs, graphic arts, and highlighted quotes and stories, all of which bring Nikola Tesla to a general public that may have very little knowledge of the great inventor. The writing style is intentionally clear and fluid so that readers young and old can gain insights into both the technical achievements and personal stories that make Tesla such an interesting man as well as a critically important contributor to modern science. People that know a lot about Tesla and people who know very little, as well as everyone in between, have all found the book both entertaining and informative.

Tesla and the author

The January conference is a wonderful opportunity to further develop a curriculum that will spread the word about Nikola Tesla. Perhaps my book will become a part of that curriculum. The conference will delve into the best way to reach out to those who have yet to know and appreciate one of the most important, yet little known, inventors in our history.

The Tesla Conference is being held on January 11, 2014 at the famed New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, just steps away from Madison Square Garden and the Penn Station Amtrak stop. An agenda of the conference can be found on the Tesla MeetUp page.

My three part series on the 2013 Tesla Conference can be read at: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

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Did Abraham Lincoln have Dual Citizenship with the Republic of San Marino?

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Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809. But in 1861, as the Civil War was threatening to split the country in two, Lincoln may have actually gained dual citizenship. Not only was he an American citizen, the Republic of San Marino granted him citizenship there as well.

For those who have never heard of San Marino, or thought it was merely a quaint Italian city, it actually is an independent country. An enclave nestled into Italy’s northeast, the tiny 24 square mile country claims to be the “oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world” (according to Wikipedia).

San Marino (from Wikipedia Commons)

Tiny as it is, San Marino apparently had a good marketing department when they decided to send a letter to the new President of the United States in 1861. Two recently discovered documents have now been provided to The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a project “dedicated to identifying, imaging, transcribing, annotating, and publishing all documents written by or to Abraham Lincoln during his entire lifetime (1809-1865).” According to the project:

The first of the two letters was sent to Lincoln by San Marino’s Regent Captains, the nation’s joint heads of state. In English and Italian, they said that as a “mark of high consideration and sincere fraternity” for the United States, citizenship in the Republic of San Marino had been conferred on Lincoln. They also acknowledged America’s “political griefs” and prayed that God would “grant you a peaceful solution.”

Well, how about that. The Most Serene Republic of San Marino conferred citizenship upon Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln even replied, again, as noted by the Papers project:

In his response dated May 7, 1861, Lincoln thanked the Council of San Marino “for the honor of citizenship” and assured them that “although your dominion is small, your State is nevertheless one of the most honored in all history.” He explained that the Civil War “involves the question whether a Representative republic, extended and aggrandized so much as to be safe against foreign enemies, can save itself from the dangers of domestic faction.”

“I have faith in a good result,” Lincoln assured them.

All of this goes to show that, despite thousands of books in print, there are still things to learn about Abraham Lincoln. I’ve discovered this myself as I’ve reviewed hundreds of letters and documents from the Library of Congress in preparation for a forthcoming book. I’ve even found quite a few interesting “connections” between Lincoln and my other favorite topic – Nikola Tesla. I’ll have more on those connections in a future post.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Tesla and Lincoln’s 2014 Schedule is Starting to Take Shape

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David J. KentSo 2013 was an incredible year, and 2014 is already looking like it will be even more incredible. Later this month I’ll take a look back on all that has happened this past year. Meanwhile, my event schedule for 2014 is starting to take shape. Here are just a few of the events already on the calendar for the first six to eight months:

January

4th – Eric Foner dinner: The noted Abraham Lincoln historian will receive the Lincoln Award from the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. We’ll have a special dinner at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington DC. Foner’s many books on Abraham Lincoln include The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, which won several major awards including the Pulitzer, Lincoln, and Bancroft Prizes.

11th – Tesla Memorial Conference: For the second year in a row I will be attending the annual Nikola Tesla conference sponsored by the Tesla Science Foundation and the New Yorker Hotel. More details to come but see here for recaps of the 2013 conference.

18th – Lincoln Group Book Club: Monthly meeting to discuss Herndon’s Lincoln, Ford’s Theater Educational Center.

February

2 weeks mid-month – Travel to Argentina. I’m still coordinating arrangements with a long-time Argentinian friend of mine, but it looks like a couple of weeks of hiking, fishing, kayaking, glacier hopping, etc. along the eastern ridge of the Andes in Patagonia and eventually all the way down to Ushuaia in the Tierra del Fuego region.

March

End of month – Have completed Lincoln book proposal in my agent’s hands (if not earlier)

April

24th – 26th – Attend American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) conference in New York City.

27th – 28th – Attend Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Chapter (CPRC) conference in Maryland. [as Past-President]

May

End of month – Planned release of Nikola Tesla and Renewable Energy e-book. More details soon!

June

haew narok waterfall 3? – What is this…nothing on my calendar yet for June? I’ll need to do something about that soon.

July

1st – Release of second printing of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by Sterling Publishing.

7th – Brown bag lecture at the Ipswich Museum in Ipswich, MA. In addition to being the featured speaker I’ll have books available for sale and signing.

8th – 10th – Annual Tesla Days in Philadelphia. A multi-day series of events celebrating the birthday of Nikola Tesla. Check here for information on the 2013 event.

July – September

In addition to the events listed above, and with the second printing (of double the initial print run) due in Barnes and Noble stores in July, I will likely be doing a series of speaking events. Stay tuned for more information, and check back frequently to my Tesla Events and Speaking Engagements page for updates. Perhaps a west coast swing? Perhaps Serbia? I’m open to ideas.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Preview of Tennessee Road Trip

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I’m currently in the middle of a road trip sandwich. Off to the big apple today (perhaps a pastrami on rye at Katz’s Deli) and not long returned from a trip down the road to Tennessee and environs (where I had pulled pork on a bun). I’ll come back with some details and more photos later, but for now here’s a quick preview of the Tennessee road trip that included two National Parks, two Aquariums, two sets of caves, two days at SETAC, and too many times in and out of Tennessee.

Conceptually, the trip was planned as a multi-day drive down through the Shenandoah’s, the Blue Ridge, and into the Great Smoky Mountains. The first part started off with good weather, but by the time we reached the Blue Ridge Parkway the meaning of “Great Smoky” came clearly into view. By which I mean to say that there was no “clearly”…and no “view.”

Backing up a bit we first stopped at the Natural Bridge just north of Roanoke, Virginia. The Bridge is a rather cool natural rock archway that most people drive over without ever noticing the valley below. Since this is a preview I’ll give you the long view for now. In a later post I’ll revisit to talk about the surveyor – some guy named George Washington – leaving his initials in the rock face.

Natural Bridge Long View

As I mentioned, the Smoky Mountains gave us a good example of why they are called the Great Smoky Mountains. I did get a chance to hike the Appalachian Trail for the third or fourth time. Granted it was a very small part of the Trail, but the Trail nonetheless.

Appalachian Trail Great Smoky Mountains

A night in Gatlinburg proved more interesting than expected. The fact that there is an aquarium in the mountains of Tennessee is odd enough, but the fact that it was a Ripley’s aquarium gives a hint of what you can expect in the town. The aquarium turned out to be wonderful, but it looked like Ripley’s (of Believe it or Not! fame) had turned the main street into a bizarre entertainment strip. We’ll come back to that later.

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies - Gatlinburg TN

Let’s see, Tennessee borders on Kentucky, right? So the natural next step was to drive all the way through the state to Cave City, KY for the world famous Mammoth Caves. At 390 miles of tunnels (and still counting), Mammoth is the longest cave system in the world.

Mammoth Caves network of tunnels

Back to Tennessee. After all, the impetus for the trip was to attend the annual SETAC meeting in Nashville. I spent most of the three days there chatting with other attendees; even sold nearly a dozen books. Alas, that time went fast and we were off to Huntsville, Alabama, home to a large Apollo-era space center.

Saturn V rocket - Huntsville AL

Seeing a Saturn V rocket next to the highway brought me back to the old days when I kept a scrapbook of the Apollo missions. But even more thought-provoking is the realization that the rocket is 363 feet tall, 33 feet in diameter, and has 3 stages – all numbers divisible by 3. Nikola Tesla would have loved it!

Back to Tennessee. And yes, about this time we saw yet another sign welcoming us back to the Volunteer state as the road trip took us from VA to TN to NC to TN to KY to TN to AL to TN to VA. Since I had been in Memphis years ago I think I now have Tennessee fully covered. In any case, this leg took us to Chattanooga for, you guessed it, yet another major aquarium. But here we also did some Civil War-era sightseeing. First, up the cliffs to the top of Lookout Mountain, center of a famous Civil War battle.

Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga TN

Then back down about half way to Ruby Falls, a 145-foot tall waterfall that is completely underground. Not only do you take an elevator down nearly 300 feet, but as you walk the half mile through the caves the mountain rises above you so that the Falls are nearly 1200 feet below the surface. For now, here’s the above-ground to whet your appetite.

Ruby Falls, Chattanooga TN

That’s enough for now. I’ll do future posts on the major stops and include some of the amazing photos. You won’t want to miss the Ruby Falls photo! [Or the interesting solar power angle]

Hey, is that Ashanti at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting? Cool.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Did Nikola Tesla Play a Practical Joke on Mark Twain’s Birthday?

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Mark Twain 1909 Wiki CommonsNovember 30th is the birthday of Mark Twain, the nom de plume of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Known for his wit and books featuring unforgettable characters such as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and the “Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Mark Twain was also a good friend of Nikola Tesla. So good that Tesla decided to have a little fun with him one day in his laboratory.

Tesla enjoyed many delightful evenings at dinner parties thrown at the fine Lexington Avenue brownstone of poet and editor Robert Underwood Johnson and his beautiful wife, Katharine. Among the “wide range of famous and lively luminaries” that adorned the Johnson’s home were Samuel Clemens, naturalist John Muir, and various musicians, actors, and actresses that routinely graced the New York stages. For his part, Tesla would regale the others with recitations of both poetry and his inventions, and commonly the evening would end with Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, Anton Dvořák or other guests following Tesla back to his laboratory to witness firsthand some of his electrical marvels.

One day Mark Twain dropped by the laboratory and Tesla decided to have a little fun with him. He asked Twain to step up on a small platform and then set the thing vibrating with his oscillator. Twain was thrilled by the gentle sensations running through his body.

“This gives you vigor and vitality,” he exclaimed.

After a short time Tesla warned Twain that he better come down now or risk the consequences.

“Not by a jugfull,” insisted Twain, “I am enjoying myself.”

Continuing to extol on the wonderful feeling for several more minutes Twain suddenly stopped talking. Looking pleadingly at Tesla he yelled:

“Quick, Tesla! Where is it?”

“Right over there,” Tesla responded calmly. Off Twain rushed to the restroom, embarrassed by his condition. Tesla smiled; the laxative effect of the vibrator was well known to the chuckling laboratory staff.

Mark Twain in Tesla's Laboratory

Mark Twain in Tesla’s Laboratory

Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla remained friends until Samuel Clemens’ death in 1910. Tesla lived on to 1943. Shortly before his own death in a lonely two-room suite at the New Yorker Hotel, Tesla was thinking of his old friend. While he had become a naturalized American citizen over a half-century earlier, Tesla’s cremated remains now rest in a spherical “Tesla ball”–shaped urn at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade.

For his part, Samuel Clemens knew how to make an entrance – and an exit – in style. He was born in a year where Halley’s Comet buzzed the Earth, and died at age 74 the very next time Halley’s Comet returned to our view. While we’ll always remember Clemens’ alter ego of Mark Twain, we’re just now rediscovering his friend and practical joke player, Nikola Tesla.

5 Things You Didn’t Know about Nikola Tesla

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book is on Abraham Lincoln, due out in 2017.

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