54 исторические миниатюры и 29 переводов. Сборник
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As if summing up the reflections on the contents of a compact 100 page book about Peter the Great, Ivanov has formulated the wish:
– However, we will not lose hope that the General reader will - over time - to buy and read "thick" books with a lot of detail, figures, thinking, versions, and interpretations ...
– Financial conditions of cooperation of the authors with our series "Life of remarkable people" are no secret, - continued Pavlenkov.
– Yes, - responded Ivanov.
– Are you ready to start writing a biographical sketch of the life and public activities of Peter the Great for the series "Life of remarkable people"? The approximate volume of the book - 100 pages?
– said Pavlenko.
– Yes, - said Ivanov.
– In that case, - I propose to begin!
– summed up the negotiations Pavlenkov.
27 may 2017.
This translation: 04.09.2017 5:32
Translation from Russian language into English language:
XVII. Nikola Tesla. What to write about Tesla? Who and what write about Nikola Tesla? Literary essay.
1. Tesla? Very interesting!
Reading on July 21, 2016 Russian-language article of Wikipedia "Vladimir Pistalo" ("Vladimir Pistalo") I have paid attention to modern occupation of V. Pistalo. These occupation was teaching. It seems, "it was postponed in memory": "professor".
Very and very positive impression on me was made by the book by Margaret Cheney about Nikola Tesla. I have decided to find about her (author) information. It was not easy, required some effort. It seems, that effort was ineffectual. One of the sites says "Professor". But there is a note that the author, writing about Nikola Tesla, is the other person, but with the same name. So in this case, the "Professor" needs to be clarified.
Finally, in the biographical information about Marc Seifer (Marc J. Seifer) I read: "Professor".
After the third (or the second?) mentions I at first involuntarily, and then also intentionally have thought: "And who writes about Nikola Tesla?".
Further behind this question there was naturally another: "And what write about Nikola Tesla?".
Then, in the tide of some audacity, I had to ask myself, "What do you need to write about Nikola Tesla?"
2. Who writes about Nikola Tesla?
So, first question: who writes about Nikola Tesla? In "automatic mode", reading a biography of Nikola Tesla, I found some information about Thomas Commerford Martin.
He is referred to by different biographers (though not all). And the book by Vladimir Pistalo contains the words "With the warm-eyed Martin, he wrote a biography ...".
In English-speaking Wikipedia there is article about Thomas Commerford Martin ("Thomas Commerford Martin"), in article - I have got acquainted with her on July 23, 2016 - his book "The Inventions, Researches, and Writings of Nikola Tesla (1893; third edition, 1894)" is mentioned. The book in English, is available on the Internet.
As well as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Commerford Martin was born in July, 1856. (Fans of astrology might find in this circumstance the prerequisites of personal compatibility). Thomas Commerford Martin personally spoke with Nikola Tesla.
We will make an additional facultative remark. The above article in Wikipedia listed among other publications Thomas Commerford Martin: "Edison, His Life and Inventions (1910), with Frank Lewis Dryer".
And among works which A.V. Kamensky used when writing a essay "Edison" (1891) there was a work: ""Edison and his inventions", Chicago, 1889". Similar names. It here coincidence. This remark can induce to a conclusion that Thomas Commerford Martin was the qualified, skilled and vigorous author.
If one identifies such an attribute of books about Tesla as "biographical" the mention of Thomas Commerford Martin, perhaps is a kind of indicator of "biographical". (Except the "biographical", perhaps we can talk about "belletristics", "fantastic" ("irreality"), "reparatively", other characteristics).
Judging by article in Wikipedia, Thomas Commerford Martin is engineer, teacher, a professional writer (the author of publications, the editor of the magazine; he wrote both about Nikola Tesla, and about Thomas Edison).. It is possible, lawful to carry it to number of historians of science and technology. He died much earlier of Nikola Tesla, 17 may 1924 (aged 67 years).
In the majority of biographic works there is a mention of John Joseph O'Neill called by Nikola Tesla's "biographer", who was personally communicating with Tesla, published Tesla's biography in 1944 the next year after Tesla's death. John J. O'Neill is a journalist. He won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize. His years of life: 1889-1953, approximately he has died at the age of 64 years.
Nikola Tesla had literary abilities. He published articles on different questions, including, concerning own biography. (In the preface to the collection of his lectures and articles there is a phrase: "Doctor's degree has been appropriated to him by the universities: Sorbonne (Paris), Colombia, Vienna, Prague, Belgrade, Zagreb, Yale, Nebraska, Grenoble, Brno, Bucharest, Graz, Sofia, etc.").
So, we can call the three major biographers, contemporaries of Nikola Tesla: (1) Nikola Tesla, (2) Thomas Commerford Martin (3) John Joseph O'Neill.
The Russian-speaking writers writing about Nikola Tesla quite a lot. Name (1) B. N. Rzhonsnitsky (1909-1983), professional writer (author of Publications, editor), archivist, historian of science and Technology, (2) Matonin E. V. (born 1964), acting journalist and writer.
"A pioneer in the field of polyphase currents," named Nikola Tesla author of a number of Russian-language books on the history of technology L. D. Belkind (years of life: 1896-1869).