I got this softcover at a local Savers thrift shop. It's a look at several "mad scientists", highlighting the eccentricities of such people as Nikola Tesla, Oliver Heaviside, Samuel Johnson, and Jeremy Bentham, with descriptions of their works and their often-unusual lives. The author notes that several appear to have had OCD, and parts of the book muse on the possible connection between certain kinds of mental illness and certain kinds of genius, whether scientific or artistic. (The works of Oliver Sacks often touch on this concept.) I was surprised to find a listing for Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber; before he went off the rails he was a brilliant mathematician...

While I'd already read about several of the people covered in the book, some were new to me, including British inventor Geoffrey Pyke; the chapter on his ideas sounds more like science fiction, and is quite dazzling!

I'm adding this to the Science and Technology bookbox, which will be on its way again soon. Hope someone enjoys the book!

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This book returned with the Science & Technology Bookbox.

Any books I do not keep to read will continue their journey via another BCer, LFL, or distributed at a book festival.

Thanks for sending this book along and participating in the Science & Technology Bookbox!

This book looks like a fascinating read!

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Dropped off at this nice LFL in the Clarendon area and picked up a slim book on container home building.

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I read some of the book but couldn’t really get into it. I hope it will find someone who will enjoy it more.