Transcript
Introduction
Having one’s own shop, working on projects of one's own choosing, making enough money today, so one could do the same tomorrow. These were the modest goals of Thomas Edison when he struck out on his own as full-time inventor and manufacturer. The grand goal was nothing other than enjoying the autonomy of entrepreneur and forestalling a return to the servitude of employee. Edison's need for autonomy was primal and unvarying. It would determine the course of his career from the beginning to the end.
That was an excerpt from the book that we're going to be talking about today. The title is The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World and the author is Randall Stross. It's the main source material for today's discussion as we look into the life of one of the most famous people of the 19th century. Let's go ahead and start with a part from the introduction of the book.