This was a well written and informative biography of the inventor, but the reverse chronology was confusing. I like that the author tried something different, but it didn't work for me.

Author Edmund Morris is difficult to anticipate; his works can be truly excellent or surprisingly unreadable. He is always creative and so I look forward to reading his work, never quite sure what I will be receiving. EDISON was a disappointment to me because I hoped to learn more about the subject and enjoy Morris’ work. Unfortunately, the author tried a few gimmicks that interfered with both objectives. The book is organized chronologically backwards. It doesn’t just begin with Edison’s death but each chapter moves from his old age through to his youth. I didn’t feel as though I was building knowledge of Edison, nor did I feel as though I was peeling away layers to reveal him. It just didn’t work for me. Edison was just unlikeable; perhaps that is what Morris ultimately felt for his subject. I don’t know. The author died last year. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Edmund Morris has written another entertaining and highly captivating biography, on a man, whom was the most defining inventor of the late 19th century to early 20th century. Edison's inventions are so vast and varied, that one is amazed to read and discover additional inventions, then those he is most known for.

The book is well written and the author lays out Edison's life categorically, by areas of discovery, as opposed to chronologically, which is easy for the reader to follow and comprehend. Morris provides a significant amount of detail about Edison, which most readers, like I, will discover to be new and refreshing. I personally have a new appreciation about Edison, the man, the inventor and his remarkable and many inventions, which heavily influenced technology and related industries.

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Edison by Edmund Morris is a biography of the most known, and productive, genius inventor in American history. Mr. Morris is famous, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer his biography The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1980.

As far as biographies go, Edison by Edmund Morris is a very unique one in the way it goes about the narrative. Mr. Morris chose to tell the life of Thomas Alva Edison in reverse chronological order, concentrating on his interests at the time.

The book starts at the end of his life, when Mr. Edison developed an interest in botany, in the defense industry (where money cold be made), chemistry, magnetism, light, sound, telegraphy and ends at the beginning of his life with what made the man.

“The cold he could stand with multiple layers of underwear, and the darkness he would one day do something about.”

At first, I didn’t follow the logic of the author’s decision, but as I progressed into it, I discovered the magic in the narrative. Every school child in America knows about Edison and his contribution to our way of life, so building up to one of his great discoveries might not be as exciting. Starting from the point of discovery, and working backwards to peel the layers of what made this genius have such ideas to begin with is a fresh perspective on stories which have been written about multiple times.

Mr. Morris focuses on Edison’s hearing loss at an early age, and the profound effect it had on the man throughout his life. The energy that Mr. Edison had is enviable, he could work 18-20 hours a day, sometimes more. For most of his life he was dedicated to his lab and inventions. I was also supposed to find out that he was stingy when someone asked him for money, but very generous with those who had his work ethic and didn’t demand much.

Sadly, Mr. Morris passed away shortly before this book was published. Luckily for us, he finished this exciting biography which will be enjoyed by many for a long time to come.

Thank you to netgalley for the free e-book in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book in the beginning - or should I say at the end? This biography is written Benjamin Button's style, starting with Edison's death and then going backwards. I found Edison's micromanagement and interest in the tiniest details of his company fascinating. Who knew that Edison spent so much effort to find a domestic plant to make into rubber?

This book's unique format made it so that I was fully immersed in Edison's later innovations. This made for quick page turning at first, but as I continued reading I became confused in the timelines and ultimately lost interest.

Edmund Morris did a massive amount of research. This biography is perfect for someone who wants to know everything about Edison's business. Unfortunately, I learned enough in the first couple hundred pages and stopped reading. Maybe I'll pick it up later and finish.

Just because he's Edmund Morris and famous as a quasi-biographer doesn't mean he should get a pass on using offensive language ("gypsy"), fatphobia, or sexualizing the women in the history. Where was his editor? In addition, it's clear from his descriptions of the technology he writes about that he doesn't quite understand it fully, and this means that there are errors of both omission and commission. Finally, Morris's adoration of Edison is tiresome after the first page. I wanted to read a biography, not a hagiography.

The late Edmund Morris is a brilliant biographer. He has chosen a unique path for illuminating Thomas Edison by working backwards chronologically. Although this makes for some difficulties in figuring out the backstories for some of the events in Edison's life it is a unique way to frame one of the most influential geniuses of our time. Well written and meticulously researched , this biography is a must read for those who are interested in seeing how this singular genius reshaped the last century through his inventions, his relationships and his participation In founding new companies.

I am constantly amazed by the depth and breadth of Edmund Morris biographies, and I am sad to think that Edison is the last I will read. Mr. Morris spent years researching and writing this book, and his dedication is certainly reflected in the amount of detail presented, both of Thomas A Edison the man and the inventor. The timeline of this biography is somewhat confusing, it is not as linear as I am used to seeing. Mr. Morris paints a vivid picture of Edison's family life, most of which I was unaware. It definitely humanized Edison. Thomas Edison was a man of high standards, which he extended to his family, co-workers and employees. He is responsible for more than 1,000 inventions, most of which are presented in very technical detail. Edison failed often, especially in business (he started around 250). Edmund Morris had unprecedented access to Edison's personal papers, extensive library, and to his family.
4.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

A scholarly biography on Edison. As a lay reader, I found the detail of his inventions, failures, etc. Interesting but more than I could really appreciate. It was, however, very interested to learn how he work (feverishly), how he related to his family, employees and the public. Henry Ford's almost hero worship of him was amazing. I've been toMenlo Park at Ford's Greenfield Village Dearborn but didn't know that transporting Menlo Park was truly a labor mom love. It was sad to see how he and his second wife ignored and/or mistreated the children of his first wife.

Sometimes a book is just overwhelming in its detail and scope, and lovers of well researched biography will be more intrigued by this than the usual reader. Meticulous in detail, it is nonetheless fascinating as is the man.

More than just an inventor!
Thanks to Amazon Vine, NetGally and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Edison by Edmund Morris.
This eight hundred page book is an interesting read and engaged me easily with the history of Thomas Alva Edison. This fascinating man was so much more than just an inventor and the author conducted extensive research to bring Edison to life for us! I just wish the book had an index for research accessibility because this is the main reason for wanting this biography of Thomas Alva Edison, using it for research that our library students have to conduct to complete their annual research paper. All-in-all, a great read because the author has taken the facts about Edison and made them appealing and compelling!

This book is an interesting read. There is no doubt Morris did tremendous work for this biography and its sad he passed away before it was published. Many will discuss the fact that the book is written in reverse going from his death to back 1 decade and so on till his birth, but Morris has taken non-traditional paths with biographies in the past. This can be confusing at times, but the layout of his life by themes of what he was inventing at the time is interesting. I recommend the book for anyone interested in learning about Edison's life.

Thomas Alva Edison, known today primarily as the inventor of the lightbulb, spent his life researching, experimenting, and inventing devices in nearly every scientific field available to him over the course of his life. Edmund Morris' new biography takes a thoroughly-researched, detailed look into these aspects of Edison's life, hoping to leave readers (perhaps) with the sense of Edison as a Renaissance Man who unceasingly explored the world around him. The reader learns of Edison's tireless efforts to perfect phonograph recordings (although deaf himself), his proficiency with Morse code, as well as the creation of inventions that, even after Morris described them, I had no idea what they were for or what they did.

That is one of the issues I had with Edison. In his push to show the reader all of the work Edison did, Morris overwhelms the reader with scientific information in some places and underwhelms the reader in others. The main problem I had with Edison however, is that it is written backwards. Starting with his death in 1931, each part of the book covers about ten years of Edison's life, retreating backwards in time until he's born in 1847. This often made the reading choppy and the biography's progression difficult to follow. Partnerships, inventions, lawsuits, and personal relationships end before they begin and often Morris has to refer the reader to later parts in the book to cover the beginning of something he's now talking about ending. If there was a reason for writing the book that way, I couldn't tell what it was- except a desire to experiment and do something different. In this case different was certainly memorable, but not, for me, in a good way.

Glimpses of Edison the man manage to show through Edison the scientist or Edison the businessman but those glimpses don't give the reader much of an impression of who he was or what made him the way he was. The impressions we do get show us a perfectionist, a tyrant, and a control freak. Meeting Edison like this at the end of his life, I have a hard time knowing if I didn't like this book because I didn't like Edison as a person, and had no investment in who he would become or what he would do with his life because I saw it from the end on, or if it was the book itself.

Not a book I'd recommend for any but the most fervent of Edison admirers, and even then, I strongly recommend reading the book from end to beginning to try and make some sense out of it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Edmund Morris is the author of the three Theodore Roosevelt biographies as well as the really good Ronald Reagan one. I am very sad to say he passed away just this past May.

Thomas Edison was a driven man. He was constantly inventing and patenting new ideas or as he would say, he brought them out in the open, they were always there. He had a new invention about every 11 days, with over 1,000 in his lifetime.

Best known for bringing us into the light, he was a man with a singular need to invent, to experiment, to push the boundaries of what was known. He was a man who needed little sleep or food and expected those around him to work the same punishing hours as he did.  He did not suffer fools lightly and like a lot of geniuses who are laser-focused on what they see as their calling, his family life suffered.

We see the husband, the father, the friend. A man who was headstrong. He started 250 businesses, so you can imagine he might have been a distant father. He made no secret that he thought his children were lacking in every way. 

I have read many biographies of Edison, most of which centered on his works and patents. I don't think he was a deliberately cold man, he was a man possessed with a need to create, to push boundaries and with that type of mind, relationships and family take a back seat.

The research that went into this work is astounding. This is a book I will have and re-read for a long time. 

NetGalley/Random House (October 22, 2019)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this ARC of Edison, by Edmund Morris. Morris is a master biographer, telling us about the life and genius of Edison, and making it interesting. We learn about Edison’s upbringing, his family, his successes, and his failures. We see a side of him as a ruthless boss, who keeps his employees wondering if they had a job or not. One of my favorite comments from Edison about his near deafness is the fact that you don’t have to hear all the nonsense around you. This book is fascinating from beginning to end. The reader will enjoy learning about his inventions, patents, and achievements.

One of the great historians of our time has taken on a famous inventor and made him real with all his character attributes and flaws. An excellent biography and fascinating read. Definitely recommend.

Great read about one of the best known geniuses in history. The format of the book is not simply a timeline of Edison’s life, but rather different areas of interest for the genius. This formatting helps with the focus in each area and is easy to follow.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is a very detailed look at the life and foibles of Thomas Edison. Most people know only general facts of Ediso's genius, such as the light bulb and motion pictures. They do not know about his failures and family life. Edison was very complicated and most, even his family, did not understand him fully. This book has many technical details about his inventions and patents but they are presented by Morris in a very readable way. The biggest problem with the book is the odd timeline used. Edison's life is given in reverse chronologic order. That may work in a fictional story but not in a biography. Knowing how events unfold before they begin is just wrong.

I received this book as an electronic resource from Net Galley

Noted: I am not a great history buff. For the true follower of Edison this would be great book. I however, found it exhaustive and skimmed some of the details.
Not one of my favorite books but it well researched and written.

This book is packed with intriguing details about the eccentric genius who helped start the technological revolution. His personal story, outlining his creativity, dedication, hard work and quirkiness, gives this book its strength. But what should be the most engaging part of the book, the exposition of the man’s genius—is so tediously detailed it becomes overwhelming. Hidden in the overly wordy text is the story of how he took the ideas of a non-stop mind and turned them into a thriving corporation, but it can be a challenge to find the narrative within the pages and pages of data and details and dry lists of facts.

Morris is the most engaging when he tells us about the man. Edison was known for taking naps whenever and wherever, even on the lawn in front of the President of the United States; his diet was abominable, consisting mainly of milk toward the end of his life; he was close friends with Henry Ford and Firestone Harvey Firestone and was known to meet them in his private train car; he seldom slept, getting by on less than four hours of sleep a night, and he could not understand why others seemed to need so much more. He was an absent father who wanted his son to take over his considerable business interests but wouldn't leave the son alone to do his work. The did both enjoy “Negro jokes,” though, a comment Morris throws in without explanation, giving it a bit more legitimacy than it should have.

When Morris turns to explaining Edison’s inventions, though, he leaves no detail unturned—the explanation of his experimentations with rubber at the beginning of the book badly needed editing. Way too much detail and no overall conclusion. I had to Google “Edison and rubber” to determine whatever came of all this research—nothing, because synthetic rubber was discovered. I’m sure this conclusion was buried in Morris’s data, but “buried” is the operative word.

Perhaps my biggest issue with this book is its organization. It starts with Edison in 1931, at the end of his life, which makes sense. Then it goes back a decade, then another decade, and another, until childhood, essentially showing us his life backwards. Given that so much of what Edison did built on earlier inventions and actions, this was confusing. We don’t really get the story of his life in this book; it was mostly an explanation of his inventions and business activities.

Serious historians and scientists would likely enjoy this book a great deal. And there’s impressive documentation—fully 25 percent of the book on my Kindle was given to bibliography and notes. I’m not sure it is for the average reader, though.

I thank Net Galley and Random House for an advance copy of the book.