The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television Book

I was in college when I learned that a fellow Idahoan Philo T. Farnsworth had invented television. By that time, virtually all patents of technical progress seem done by large electronics companies and one had the sense that Thomas Edison was the last independent inventor of any significant contribution. It was what David Sarnoff and RCA wanted you to believe. This book uncovers that lie in a fascinating story of the battle between independent Farnsworth and mogul David Sarnoff. Pitting brilliance against ego, vison against vision, sense of personal worth against megalomania, one treads the treacherous path Farnsworth trod.

Wiser than Nikola Tesla, Farnsworth understood the critical role of properly owned patents and the costs of failing to fully secure them. He also was unprepared for the full arrogance of Sarnoff who, in spite of Farnsworth's undeniable supremacy, claimed publicly Sarnoff was the inventor of television. Even a court decision granting the rights to Farnsworth did not in anyway stymie Sarnoff's claim. Sarnoff had corporate wealth and access to press his claim to a public, a level of access that Farnsworth could never hope to counter.

But geeks are funny people. We love stories of underdogs, seek them out and elevate them to virtual godhood. Joining the ranks of young Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, Tesla has become master and Farnsworth follows close. And Sarnoff today? -- seen only as a faker and a liar who used his massive wealth to hide and hinder. RCA, the electronic giant, visionary and developer of the future is a "was". Farnsworth remains "is".