Charles Proteus Steinmetz: The Electrical Wizard of Schenectady

A genius to rival Edison, a personality as intriguing as Tesla, Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a key figure in creating the modern world.

Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla have the glory, but perhaps the greatest electrical wizard of them all was Charles Proteus Steinmetz. Revered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a genius, but largely forgotten today, Steinmetz made the modern world possible through his revolutionary work on AC electricity transmission, the technology underlying today's power grid. More than just a great scientist and engineer, Steinmetz was also one of the most colorful characters in American life.

Standing just four feet tall with a pronounced spine curvature, Steinmetz was as well known for his fiery political opinions, his fierce advocacy for social progress and education, his unusual home life, and his private menagerie as for his technical achievements. The first full biography of Steinmetz in many years, Charles Proteus Steinmetz: The Electrical Wizard of Schenectady brings the life, passions, and scientific achievement of this remarkable man to a new generation.

About the Author
Bly, Robert W.: - Robert W. Bly is the author of over 95 books on science, technology, business, marketing, copywriting, science fiction, and popular culture. Bly holds a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Before becoming a freelance writer, he was a technical writer for Westinghouse. He has written technical materials on electricity and electronics for such companies as GE Semiconductor, Schneider Electrical, and Leviton. In addition to his book-length works, Bly's articles have appeared in Science Books & Films, Computer Decisions, City Paper, The Record, Cosmopolitan, Writer's Digest, Chemical Engineering, and many other magazines and newspapers. He has a science website--www.mychemset.com--and his writing website is www.bly.com.