Tesla

In every sense of the word, Serbian-born inventor Nikola Tesla was a true visionary, a scientist whose passion for electricity led to such innovations as alternating current electricity. But in his later years Tesla became increasingly obsessive, convinced that two-way communication with Mars was possible, and that pigeons in the park were bonding with him. Written and produced by noted documentary filmmaker David Grubin, this PBS-aired American Experience entry, narrated by Michael Murphy, examines Tesla's life and work, which led him to America where he briefly collaborated with his idol Thomas Edison. But Tesla soon split with Edison, who championed a direct current electrical system, which was cumbersome and required numerous power plants to distribute electricity to relatively small areas. Edison had a practical trial-and-error way of working, while Tesla lacked fundamental business sense (guided by intuition, he failed to secure lucrative business patents, which could have financed his grandiose ideas). This shortcoming, paired with his lavish lifestyle, led Tesla into debt, requiring him to seek the patronage of businessman George Westinghouse, financier J.P. Morgan, and others. A key to Tesla's genius was his photographic memory and visual facility, but he was plagued by phobias and obsessions, including his belief that everything had to be divisible by three, which required him to circle a block three times before entering a building (other fears included touching human hair and women's earrings—he never married). This documentary covers Tesla's many innovations—such as the Tesla coil—and business ventures, the latter ultimately proving fruitless as Tesla went from famous to forgotten in his lifetime, dying in 1943. However, he did lay the foundations for many contemporary wonders, including wireless communication, which has become ubiquitous in the 21st century. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)