This book is a brilliantly illustrated biography of Nikola Tesla. It contains biographical information written in an engaging and accessible way for the suggested age 8 to 11 audience, plus sidebar explanations of scientific concepts. It touches on values such as perseverance and making contributions for the sake of making lives easier, whether lucrative or not, illustrated by the hardships in Tesla's life. It contains all the back matter that the common core curriculum suggests, a glossary, a timeline, a select bibliography, further reading and related internet sites. I especially enjoyed the way the author mentioned the World's Fairs in the story. This would make a good companion to The Fantastic Ferris Wheel by Betsy Harvey Kraft.

This well-designed book clearly explains the brilliant, but flawed career of Nikola Tesla—his inventive mind, his clashes with Thomas Edison, his work with George Westinghouse, and his difficult last years. This is a good introduction to Tesla’s work on alternating current.