There’s something hopeful about a book setting out to tell us that our fabled geniuses were weirdos and goofballs. It supposes that greatness is still real enough to need demystifying. Spalding teases her subjects because, most of the time, she wants to express what was admirable about them ... All that variety makes the book hang together awkwardly in places. Like many of its distractible subjects, Edison’s Ghosts can’t quite focus on one task systematically: some chapters are biographical sketches of an entire chaotic life; others narrate a single quirk or incident ... Spalding is at her best not as a witticist but as an enthusiast, when the book moves from poking the reader in the ribs to eagerly pointing out this or that engaging idea.
Irreverent and entertaining ... While the essays are tongue-in-cheek, they’re also well researched, informative and absolutely fun. Edison’s Ghosts will delight any science or history lover with a sense of humor.
Spalding delivers consistently lively, witty excursions into the sometimes-weird lives and beliefs of the famous ... An entertaining and informative collection.
Mathematician Spalding takes some of history’s most lauded savants down a notch in this gut-busting survey ... Full of jaw-dropping anecdotes and valuable history lessons, this is a delight.
