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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Nikola Tesla Wine Reception and Lectures

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Tesla: The Wizard of ElectricityThe annual Tesla Day 2013 in Philadelphia is fast approaching. Besides free events featuring inventions, speakers, music and more, there will be an opening night wine tasting and reception. Follow this link to find out more and sign up:

http://tesladay2013.eventbrite.com/

I’ll be there to introduce my new book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, which is now available exclusively as both a hard cover and Nook ebook on BarnesandNoble.com.

Tesla Days celebrates the life and works of one of the world’s greatest inventors, Nikola Tesla. Tesla Days 2013, will feature live speakers, musical performances and local dignitaries who come together to inform and inspire. The opening night kickoff events include:

WINE RECEPTION  – Join the president of Tesla Science Foundation, its board of trustees, staff and supporters at this intimate wine reception to be held on the second floor of the Ethical Humanist Society. The reception will feature wines by the Balkan Wine Project as well as light hors d’oeuvres. The reception will be attended by our speakers and performers, so you will have a chance to meet our esteemed guests in person.

LECTURES & PERFORMANCES  –  The Tesla Science Foundation introduces the works and ideas of some of the nation’s most innovative thinkers. Enjoy live performances from artists such thereminist Mano Divina and Natalie Page Bentley, and lectures by our esteemed guests: Dr. Milena Bajic, clinical psychologist, Dr. Evan Malone founder of NextFab Studio and TEDx speaker who will be presenting Keeping Innovation at Home, and W. Bernard Carlson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Technical Age.

AWARDS CEREMONY  –  Tesla Science Foundation recognizes the works and inventions of scientists, thinkers and innovators who share their ideas through Tesla Club and Tesla Inventor’s Club.

Sign up for the opening night reception events now. Then go to the Tesla Science Foundation website to check out the other events going on across Philadelphia over four days from July 6 – 9.

I’ll be speaking Tuesday, July 9th at the Tesla Film, Book and Art Festival:

  • Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
  • Free Library of Philadelphia 1901 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA

More information on specific times will be posted on this Science Traveler website and on my Facebook page. Hope to see you there.

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Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity – Now Available!

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Click to pre-order now at barnesandnoble.comTesla: The Wizard of Electricity is officially published as of June 30, 2013. It is now available exclusively at BarnesandNoble.com now! I’ve already provided a quick sneak peak, and now it’s time to highlight more about the book.

To begin with, the book is designed to appeal to a wide range of the general public, not just academic researchers. So…

Like thrilling personality insights? The book is chock full of interesting stories on Tesla from his “100-bug-powered” windmills as a youth to his practical jokes on Mark Twain in his heyday to his dispute with Einstein as he entered his twilight years.

Into graphic novels? Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity includes many historical comics and photos to spotlight key events and figures in Tesla’s spectacular life. The book is an amazing visual experience.

An invention buff? The book captures the prolific inventive mind of Nikola Tesla and how many of his inventions were so far ahead of their time that we are still today relying on his patents for new discoveries.

Turned on by conflict and tension? Tesla’s life can be summed up by one of my chapter titles: “A Man Always at War.” Delve into the complex relationships he had with Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Guglielmo Marconi, J.P. Morgan, and others that were sometimes colleagues, and sometimes rivals.

Prefer serious historical biography? Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity traces the great man’s life from his childhood in the military frontier, through his schooling and employment in the grand capitals of Europe, to his tumultuous, yet most productive, years in New York City, Colorado Springs, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Niagara Falls.

In short, the book provides insights into a man who has been largely ignored by history despite his huge contributions to modern life. A man who over 100 years ago anticipated that one day we would all be carrying around hand-held devices capable of instant communication across vast distances. Who a century ago promoted and developed renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. A man who left us a legacy that is just now being rediscovered by scientists, the public, and perhaps most ironically, pop culture.

Join me in celebrating the life and legacy of Nikola Tesla. Spread the word.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity is available exclusively in Barnes and Noble stores and online at barnesandnoble.com (and BN.com).

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Juneteenth, Frederick Douglass, and Emancipation Day

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A statue of Frederick Douglass was dedicated on June 19th in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol Building. It’s been a long time coming, but the date, and the location, are eminently appropriate. Juneteenth, a portmanteau of June and Nineteenth, celebrates the day that the final state of the failed Confederacy abolished slavery. So having the unveiling of the former slave turned great statesman and ardent abolitionist on Emancipation Day is as good an orchestrated roll out as could be imagined.

Frederick Douglass

Douglass is a phenom in the history of freedom from slavery, and a story that deserves its own space for the telling. For now just recall that he was the most vocal “freeman” to push for emancipation. He pressed Abraham Lincoln and others and was often frustrated at the slow pace of change. So while Lincoln rightly deserves much credit for emancipating the slaves, Douglass deserves much more credit than history has recorded.

Emancipation didn’t come easy, of course, as the deaths of between 620,000 and 750,000 men from bullets and disease so graphically reminds us. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued initially in September 1862 and took effect on January 1, 1863. But the immediate impact was limited. It took the North winning the war, Congress passing the 13th Amendment, and ratification by the states for slaves to finally “be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Still, not all of the former Confederate states were happy to comply. It took a Union General, plus a couple of thousand armed troops, to effectively take over the last holdout – Texas – and declare that “all slaves are free.” That was June 19, 1865. Juneteenth.

So, as Lincoln would have paraphrased himself, it is altogether fitting and proper that a seven-foot bronze statue of Frederick Douglass be installed in the Capitol Building on Juneteenth. Emancipation Day.

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 and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty 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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Nikola Tesla – Big as Life

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An odd thing happened today. I heard a knock on the door, and who might I find there? You guessed it – Nikola Tesla.

Nikola Tesla

I told him he looked a bit pale, but his response was too faded to hear. In any case, Tesla has agreed to join me on the road as I visit my family and old friends in Massachusetts, then give a lecture in Philadelphia, and finally throw a full-fledged party for him (and me).

Pre-order the book online at Barnes and Noble.com. Do NOT go to Amazon because you won’t find it there (long story). At less than $10 the book is a bargain. Pre-order it now for delivery as soon as June 30th arrives.

Go here for a sneak preview: Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

I’ll have more information – and photos of the inside – shortly. The countdown has begun!

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Happy Father’s Day, Dad

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Happy Father’s Day. To all fathers, everywhere. Thanks for putting up with your children, including me. While I didn’t know it then, I see it now. It couldn’t have been easy. 🙂

Father and son

I’m especially grateful for this opportunity to wish my Dad a happy father’s day. Earlier this year, after falling and breaking some ribs, the doctors discovered an aneurysm. A big one. An unbearably long period of testing and discussion finally led to a full open-chest surgery. The surgery went well, but the coming out of anesthesia was more exciting than anyone had anticipated. A very long seizure event, the result of several small strokes, left my Dad in a coma for the next four days. Finally awake, barely, we went through several more days of delirium and hallucinations but no movement on the right side.

Mom and Dad chasing alligators in Belize

Nothing like a relaxing day of alligator chasing by speedboat in Belize when you’re 80+ years old

I should stop here and let you know that Dad is now recovering. Slowly, for sure, but from where we began, his recovery is nothing short of astounding. By the way, Dad will celebrate his 86th birthday in just a few weeks. He has some rerouted plumbing, a few artificial stents holding the aortic arch together, and chest scars that would have inspired Mary Shelley’s artistic creation, but he is here to celebrate the celebration season with us.

Yes, I said celebration season. We’ve just passed my Mom’s birthday and Mother’s Day, we’ll blink past my own natal day of non-remembrance, today is Father’s Day, and then, not by coincidence, we’ll celebrate my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary on the four score and sixth anniversary of my father’s birth. Oh, and there is the 4th of July somewhere in there as well. Last year, on their respective 80th and 85th birthdays, the cake reminisced back to the youthful days of old, that is, before I had arrived to start the aging process:

Mom and Dad's birthday cake

So Happy Father’s Day, Dad. You are loved and appreciated far beyond my poor power to express those feelings. My book, which you’ll soon see, is in part dedicated to you and Mom. Thanks for being my lifelong inspiration.

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Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity – Availability

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Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and David J. KentA quick update on the upcoming launch of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. Did I say upcoming. Actually…

It’s here!

The book is being published by Sterling Publishing (specifically, their Fall River Press imprint). Since Sterling is a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble, for the initial launch period the book will be available exclusively at Barnes and Noble stores and on the barnesandnoble.com website. You won’t find it listed on Amazon so go straight to the barnesandnoble.com (or BN.com) site.

The hard copy book is currently available for pre-order. Check it out, you can’t beat the price. Pre-order it now for delivery as soon as June 30th arrives.

Want an e-book? To speed up the process of adding the e-book to the site, look below the pre-order button for where it says “nook books.” Click on the line that asks “Want to read this on your NOOK? Request as NOOK Book from the publisher.” It will tell them to get the e-book online. [Or if it is already there by the time you click, just go ahead and order it]

In July the book will be in the actual Barnes and Noble brick-and-mortar stores. Look for it prominently displayed near the front door as you enter the store. I’ll provide more details when that happens, plus let you know where I’ll be secretly showing up to sign copies of the book (and give talks about Tesla to anyone interested).

I’ll also have copies for sale through this website, assuming I have any left after the upcoming visit with my family and my participation in Tesla Days in Philadelphia. Look for a link on this site in early July.

More details soon. I promise.

(Okay, time to celebrate!)

dancesmile

 

 

 

More information on the release of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

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Energy Independence – Tesla Days Events in Philadelphia

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Tesla: Wizard of ElectricityBe a part of history. Join me and the Tesla Science Foundation at a 4-day “celebration of science, ideas and progress” as part of the annual Tesla Days, July 6 – 9+, 2013, in Philadelphia. In addition to a fantastic display of inventions, presentations, and music, the Tesla Science Foundation will sponsor a Million Volt March. Billed as “a global breakthrough movement dedicated to building awareness of a new energy paradigm envisioned by the world’s greatest inventor, Nikola Tesla,” this is your chance to pledge yourself to energy independence.

I’ll be there introducing my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, which will be hot off the presses. Will you join me?

As of this writing there is about one month to go before these two great events coincide – the launch of my book and the great Tesla Days events. Over the next few weeks I’ll be spotlighting both events here on these pages.

The final details are being worked out now for Tesla Days but one thing is clear – it will change the way you see energy! After the Million Volt March there will be a signing of the Declaration of Energy Independence – and with Tesla’s influence, there might even be free energy. Check here for more information on locations, events, and lodging. Note that there are still a few slots available if you can offer a talk on a Tesla-inspired film, book or visual arts project during the Monday and Tuesday of the Festival. Contact Howard Lipman at parisbks@yahoo.com to get on the agenda.

I’ll be speaking at the Festival and will post more details here when the final dates and times are announced. And after waiting for a very long nine months I’ll also have actual physical copies of my book for sale. So come on to Philadelphia, buy a book direct from me, and I’ll even sign it to you. How about that for a deal, eh?

These are exciting times for Tesla and for me. Come back here to Science Traveler over and over during the next month because I’ll be posting tons of new information on the book, how you can get your own copy (hint – Barnes and Noble stores, front display), and speaking engagements where you can come to hear me speak. If you can’t wait until July (and it will be difficult to wait, I know), check out my talk at the Tesla Memorial Conference at the New Yorker Hotel in January (skip to about the 10:50 mark to see me literally trip up the steps to the stage).

I hope to see you in Philly, and back here often during the next few weeks for important details and offers.

More information on the release of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

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Book Review – Terminal Value by Thomas Waite

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Terminal Value by Thomas WaiteI had fun reading this book. And not just because one of the main characters stumbles on an idea that would have made  Nikola Tesla’s ears ring. Thomas Waite’s debut novel introduces us to the techno-thriller. Someone dies in his prologue – we don’t know who or by whom, or even whether the murderer or murdered is male or female. But we do know that it has something to do with the acquisition of a high-tech mobile computing firm started by four young friends, and the big conglomerate that wants them. The elation of becoming rich overnight soon gives way to suspicion, of each other and of the shady characters that seem to emerge from every corner of the new firm.

Waite’s story builds as you get into the book, expanding the intrigue as Dylan and his partners struggle to discover how their company has become a pawn to both greed and murder. The tension builds as we gain insights into the world of high-tech corporations about to go public. As the recent Facebook IPO shows, going public isn’t always as innocent and above-board as it seems. Waite brings his many years of business expertise into the story, and the reader is all that much better for it. I really got into the story and couldn’t put the book down. Try this book. You will like it.

Click on the book image to get to Thomas Waite‘s website.

For other book reviews by David J. Kent, click here.

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Sneak Preview of the New Book – Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity

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Today is a day that will live in my memory for a long time. It is the day I received the first actual hard copy of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. In a word, the book is amazing. In a few more words, it is like nothing you have ever seen before in a Tesla biography.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and David J. Kent

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by David J. Kent

As you can see, the book is designed to be visually appealing. The cover is a vibrant – go ahead, you can call it electrifying – blue and features a photograph of Nikola Tesla and the visage of his famed Wardenclyffe tower. Look closer to see hints of lightning and radio.

The goal of the book is to reach out to those who want to learn about Nikola Tesla…or who want to learn about the history of invention in the United States…or who, well, just want to have fun with science. Inside, the book is highly illustrated. Photographs, drawings, even cartoons are laced throughout to highlight the text and bring Tesla to life. You can see the table of contents in an earlier article.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by David J. Kent

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity by David J. Kent

In addition to the wonderful graphics are many call-out quotes and stories. You can giggle along with his assistants as Tesla introduces Mark Twain to his oscillating device. Marvel at the roaring falls as Tesla and Westinghouse team up to harness Niagara. Root for him as he takes on Edison and Marconi, and even Einstein. The combination of stories and illustrations seeks to bring Nikola Tesla to the people in a way that those who understand his inventions and those who do not can both appreciate.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity officially publishes on June 30th. It will be available in Barnes and Noble stores and online. I hope you like it.

More information on the release of Tesla: Wizard of Electricity.

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A review of TESLA, the off-Broadway play

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Tesla official posterA rainy evening in the East Village welcomed the opening night of the new off-Broadway play, TESLA. All that was missing were bolts of lightning, which would have been appropriate given that Nikola Tesla was born at midnight during a thunder storm. Inside the theater the electricity was as vibrant as the topic of the show. Not a seat was to be found in the packed theater – not even standing room was left available. They were not to be disappointed.

For much of the play there are actually two Nikola Teslas onstage. Jack Dimich plays the older Tesla living out the end of his life in the Hotel New Yorker, ruminating over his inability to offer a particle beam to stop Hitler’s assaults on Yugoslavia. As Tesla chats with bellhop Luka (played by Luka Mijatovic), whom he has enlisted to feed his pigeons, he is joined by his younger self, who relives the glory days of invention. Young Tesla, played enthusiastically by James Lee Taylor, stars throughout as he meets his idol (and then rival) Thomas Edison, cavorts with Mark Twain, sees his dreams come true with the backing of George Westinghouse, and then sees those dreams dashed by J.P. Morgan.

TESLA cast

TESLA cast (Photo by Sam Mason, Tesla Science Foundation)

Alessandro Colla gives spirited performances both as Westinghouse and Twain. Adam Pagdon brings to life J.P. Morgan in a way that makes you both respect and despise the man who financed, then rejected, Tesla’s Wardenclyffe plans. Tom Cappadona is simply stellar as Thomas Edison, the self-made businessman whose investment in direct current leads him to encourage the electrocution of puppies and people to show the dangers of Tesla’s alternating current. Samantha Slater does double duty playing Katherine Johnson, the wife of Tesla’s friend and supporter Robert Underwood Johnson, as well as Mary, Edison’s enthusiastically social-climbing wife.

Despite the seriousness of the storyline, writer Sheri Graubert has expertly woven comic relief into the play. The most appreciated example is the recurring interludes by Guglielmo Marconi, “inventor of the raaadio.” Played magnificently by Jeff Solomon, you could hear the sound of the audience rising to a smile each time Marconi struts onto the stage. His performance was truly a gem. With her ability to switch back and forth between levity and gravity, Graubert has written an excellent play, well played.

Any review of TESLA would be remiss without acknowledging the superb direction of Sanja Bestic. Balancing two Teslas and host of other actors onstage, along with periodic video shots (by Maria Riboli) to set up and emphasize key characters and concepts, could not have been an easy task. Yet Bestic deftly turns the world of the enigmatic inventor into something we can all understand and appreciate.

Overall I was tremendously impressed with the quality of the acting, writing, and direction. The sold out opening night, including the pack of press passes sitting directly in front of me, rose organically and enthusiastically to give the bowing cast a standing ovation. It was well deserved.

TESLA ran through June 8th, 2013 at Theatre 80, St. Mark’s Place, New York. The run was sold out to standing only crowds. It was worth it.

David J. Kent is the author Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World, plus two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His latest book is Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. 

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

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