As for the text, we have chosen to modify some of Tesla’s odd spelling tendencies for modern eyes (e.g. “tho” is now though, “imprest” is now impressed, and so on). Additionally, we have researched and appended 156 footnotes to better clarify and identify some of the science, technology, and persons noted by Tesla, as well as to help you quickly locate the pages, illustrations, or chapters that he cross-references throughout. Where appropriate, we have included text and/or images that Tesla referenced outside of the original EE magazines. All to say that we have labored to make an informative and educational edition that we hope is an illuminating read.

To read our full thoughts, check out “May That Mystery Live On!”

1. My Early Life
2. My First Efforts at Invention
3. My Later Endeavors
4. The Discovery of the Tesla Coil and Transformer
5. The Magnifying Transmitter
6. The Art of Telautomatics

“Tesla really understood the interconnectivity of the universe.” —Ethan Hawke

“Inspiration—that is what he gave to other inventors whose endeavors his life spanned, and that is what his work continues to give to technical specialists in these times.” —Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time

“Today, we yet find that the writings of Tesla retain their undiminished power of inspirational endeavor to the reader.” —Leland Anderson

“It is my opinion that he was incredibly ahead of his time.” —Preston B. Nichols, The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time

“An eccentric genius who out-invented Edison and discovered radio before Marconi . . . Nikola Tesla may be one of the most important men of invention in our nation’s history.” —David J. Kent, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity

“Were we to seize and to eliminate the results of Mr. Tesla’s work, the wheels of industry would cease to turn, our electric cars and trains would stop, our towns would be dark, our mills would be dead and idle.” —Bernard A. Behrend

“In almost every step of progress in electrical power engineering, as well as in radio, we can trace the spark of thought back to Nikola Tesla. There are few indeed who in their lifetime see realization of such a far-flung imagination.” —Ernst Alexanderson

“Nikola Tesla, in the opinion of authorities, today is conceded to be the greatest inventor of all times. Tesla has more original inventions to his credit than any other man in history. He is considered greater than Archimedes, Faraday, or Edison. His basic, as well as revolutionary, discoveries for sheer audacity have no equal in the annals of the world. His master mind is easily one of the seven wonders of the intellectual world.” —Hugo Gernsback, Electrical Experimenter

My Inventions & Other Essays