Lee de Forest: "Father of Radio" or Fraud?

an excerpt from the new book
Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing: Man's Encounter with The Electron
by Hans Camenzind
Published by BookLocker.com
Reprinted here with permission.



INTRODUCTION

Those interested in the history of invention, will enjoy this excerpt from the new book, Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing, a history of electricity by microchip designer Hans Camenzind.

Camenzind moves like a charged particle through the history of electronic invention, sketching dozens of inventors, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, professors and others.

All the luminaries are here -- Franklin, Faraday, Morse, Bell, Tesla, Edison, Marconi -- but Camenzind shines most when profiling lesser lights who made big contributions.

The excerpt below is about one such character: Lee de Forest. Was he the "Father of Radio," as he proclaimed, or a fraud? He helped develop the vacuum tube and rode it to three fortunes before settling down with a Hollywood starlet to a life of relative obscurity.

More information about author Hans Camenzind and his new book, Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing, follows the excerpt. You can find video clips of the author talking about other technology pioneers at the History of Electronics website.

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( Click to read excerpt. )