Tesla: Wizard at War: The Genius, the Particle Beam Weapon, and the Pursuit of Power Hardcover – August 30, 2022

Review of TESLA Wizard at War, by Marc J. SeiferIn his second book about Tesla, Marc Seifer once again breaks through the legend, the enigma, and the life and times of a man who brought more technical innovation to humanity than any other in history. This book is a treasure trove of never before published details about Tesla’s invention and his personal relationships with the celebrities, scientists and business moguls of the early twentieth century.Marc’s detailed search of archived letters, correspondence, documents and new documents released under Freedom of Information Act requests has resulted in a detailed account of Nikola Tesla’s involvement with scientists, diplomats and businessmen during the First World War and leading up to the Second World War. For history buffs there is an extensive review of the subterfuge, sabotage and spies that were active in the United States prior to our entry into the Great War. From what Tesla said, quoted in an article published in the New York Times on December 8th, 1915, it appears that he had invented a particle beam weapon. Tesla announced his particle beam weapon in 1934, three years after he made the cover of TIME magazine celebrating his 75th birthday. The details of the design were sold to the Russians shortly thereafter. How it worked and what became of the technology is detailed in WIZARD at War. Included for experimenters, engineers and scientists are details not only of the particle beam weapon but of the design of the Wardenclyffe wireless power transmission installation. The intended patent application and drawings for the particle beam weapon were first published in 1984 in the proceedings of the Tesla Centennial Symposium held in Colorado Springs, CO, an event I co-hosted with the physicist Elizabeth Rauscher. In fact, it was at that time that I first met Marc who spoke at the conference.In a major contribution to the study of gravity there is a chapter devoted to Tesla’s Dynamic Theory of Gravity and the necessity of including the aether in any attempt at understanding gravity and the origin of matter. Well known scientists such as Sir Oliver Lodge, J.J. Thompson, Lord Kelvin and Einstein all recognized the need for aether in order to explain the physical phenomenon of inertia and gravity. Tesla spoke of his theory in 1937 in a prepared statement to the press prior to interviews on his 81st birthday. The prepared statement from 1937 is presented in Tesla Said, published in 1984 by John T. Ratzlaff of the Tesla Book Company. On May 12th, 1938 he spoke again about his gravity theory to The Institute of Immigrant Welfare. In 1951 the US Government Library of Congress acknowledged it had “research studies by Dr. Nikola Tesla…on gravity…” This theory closely resembles the theory of gravity and the aether worked out by Paramahamsa Tewari. Tewari’s work resulted in a reactionless generator which in effect was prophesied by Tesla.TESLA Wizard at War is essential reading for anyone interested in the life and times of Nikola Tesla and an important follow up to Marc’s 1997 book, Wizard, The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla, Biography of a Genius.Swami Vivekananda, from whom Tesla learned the Sanskrit words from the ancient Vedic texts of India that describe the origins of matter, said “in Tesla’s electrical discharges I even felt the presence of Brahma himself.”Samuel Cohen, writing in the Electrical Experimenter in July, 1915, described Tesla as “…one of the world’s most distinguished scientists of whom it has rightly been said, “He lives a hundred years ahead of his time.”Toby GrotzCo-Chair, Tesla Centennial Symposium, 1984President of the International Tesla Society, 1986Chair, 1986 International Tesla Symposium

This was one of my longer book readings as of late. But for the better. The author not only writes about the possibility of Nikola Tesla inventing a particle beam weapon ("death ray") but also takes the reader on a journey through Tesla's entire life. Though at times, the narrative might seem to meander through different episodes of Tesla's life, I've come to realize that it's all part of telling the greater story. To go far into the quest for the truth about Tesla's death ray, one has to go deep into the world of Tesla.And Tesla's world was deep. In addition to being the most important inventors of his time, Tesla associated with many of the movers and shakers, money makers, and celebrities of his day. From politicians, moguls, Mark Twain to rich socialites and even an Indian swami, Tesla knew a lot of people.And then there's the particle beam weapon. Tesla's "death ray". And the one invention of Tesla's that gave the US government reason to worry when Tesla died in 1943. In addition to discussing possible deals Tesla may have made with Britain and Russia for sale of the death ray, the book goes into some detail about the efforts by the FBI led by Dr. John Trump (uncle to the president), as well as military intelligence, to locate Tesla's missing papers and/or the death ray itself.Finally, the book moves past the death ray and into the area of high end physics and Tesla's ideas on things like gravity, magnetism, and the "God" Particle. Plus final thoughts.My only complaint, really, is the complete lack of pictures and illustrations. No doubt most of us who bought this are probably already well-versed in Tesla's story and inventions. But a pictures section would have been nicer than having to constantly refer to Google. And some illustrations would have really helped during the discussion of high-end physics in the last couple of chapters.Other than that, this was a pretty good book on Nikola Tesla, his life, and his inventions.

He was never given credit or acknowledged for all the things he developed such as xray, remote control, turbines, alternating current which we all use in our homes, among other things. Good reading.