Mad Like Tesla: Underdog Inventors and their Relentless Pursuit of Clean Energy - ECW Press

Mad Like Tesla: Underdog Inventors and their Relentless Pursuit of Clean Energy

Hamilton, Tyler

$10.95
  • An “illuminating and important” look at the scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who are working to save us from catastrophic climate change (New York Journal of Books)

    Climate change solutions so crazy they just might work!

    A search for the contemporary Nikola Tesla — considered a mad scientist by his society for predicting global warming more than 100 years ago — fuels this analysis of climate issues, which introduces thinkers and inventors who are working to find possible ways out of the energy crisis.

    From Louis Michaud, a retired refinery engineer who claims we can harness the energy of man-made tornadoes, to a professor and a businessman who are running a company that genetically modifies algae so it can secrete ethanol naturally, these individuals and their unorthodox methods are profiled through first-person interviews, exposing the social, economic, financial, and personal barriers that prevent them from making an impact with their ideas.

    The existing state of green energy technologies, such as solar, wind, biofuels, smart grid, and energy storage, is also explored, creating a sense of hope against a backdrop of climate dread.

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  • Tyler Hamilton is an author, adjunct professor, and award-winning energy and technology writer for the Toronto Star, where for five years he has been one of Canada’s leading voices on green technology issues and trends through his weekly column and associated blog, CleanBreak.ca.

  • Published: September 2011

    ISBN: 9781770410084

    Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 in.

    Pages: 256

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Reviews

“It’s refreshing to read a book by a writer who knows his stuff, appreciates what he is looking at, and still has the positive enthusiasm of a little kid. Many science and technology writers could learn a lot from Tyler Hamilton.” — Cool Green Mag

“[A] vivid portrait … Hamilton isn’t interested in forecasting winners and losers as much as arguing that any and all efforts to develop new energy sources will boost the odds of ‘black swans’: unexpected events that ‘can blindside the optimists and the pessimists alike.’” — Publishers Weekly

Mad Like Tesla is easy to get through, even for readers with only a basic knowledge of energy issues. Hamilton makes complex technologies comprehensible, and he clearly enjoys the remarkable human stories behind the science. Many of the risk takers and visionaries portrayed are Canadian (rocker Neil Young makes a cameo appearance!), but this book’s strong appeal should transcend all borders.” — Library Journal

“A real page-turner.” — The Conspiracy Show