The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth Reviews

• 
  Kathryn

  Loved this, but then I'm partial to books that show young people can do remarkable things. Fascinating story! I don't think I'd ever heard of Farnsworth (RCA is widely known for debuting the TV in 1939 at the World's Fair) I'm glad he is now getting recognition he deserves for inventing the television when he was a teenager. The story here is well-told and primarily positive and celebratory so it's great to share with young people and especially those interested in inventing. I would aim it for the upper-elementary set as it's definitely on the lengthier side and has some complicated concepts, but my budding engineer (7 years old) was very attentive.
  
  The Author's Note goes into some of the less cheery aspects, such as how Farnsworth didn't want to relinquish control to RCA so he passed over their offer of payment for his idea... then later RCA claimed their own employee invented the television and took the fame. Also, Farnsworth became quite bitter about the very thing he had helped create... in his later years, he rarely watched TV and didn't let his children watch television. He had dreamed that television would be a way to unite people, communities and nations and be a medium of educationa and, perhaps, even of world peace. He felt it had been misused. "Too many cowboy movies," he said. Fortunately, he lived long enough to see the Moon Landing broadcast and felt that TV was finally becoming the worthwhile tool he had dreamed it would be. Despite his issues with the television, he never stopped getting brainstorms or trying to help people, he received 150 patents and worked on ways to control deadly viruses, safely dispose of waste, and find cheap sources of power.
  
  The back matter also contains a list of Sources (books, websites and television) and denotes which books are most suitable for young readers.
  
  The illustrations are wonderful and I love the inclusion of pages from antique Sears, Roebuck catalogs and Popular Science magazines into the illustrations.
  
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Michael Fitzgerald

  The book itself is mostly good, but the author's note seems to be lacking some pertinent details. It states that "RCA simply disregarded the [1934] ruling and debuted TV in 1939" without noting that RCA paid Farnsworth one million dollars over ten years, plus license payments for the use of his patents. That's quite a different story, one that doesn't simply cast the underdog kid against the big bad corporation that "simply disregarded" a U.S. Patent Office ruling. The note states, "By 1949 one million sets had been sold, mostly by RCA" and it could have added, "and Farnsworth made money on every one of RCA's sales."
• 
  Caroline

  So I might have a slight affinity for trail-blazing thinkers and inventors.... My latest selection is about Philo Farnsworth, the teenager who came up with the idea for television. He was a brilliant scientific mind, sadly erased from history by RCA until recently. The pictures in the book are a bit dark and fuzzy for my tastes, but the text is fascinating enough to move the story forward from Philo's beginnings on a Utah farm to his amazing first television broadcast.
• 
  Shaeley Santiago

  Fascinating story of how the curiosity of Philo Farnsworth led him to solve the problem of transmitting pictures through the air and inventing the TV. Interestingly enough, the solution occurred to him while plowing a potato field and looking back at the parallel furrows. He realized images could be broken down into rows of light, transmitted as electrons, and then reassembled for viewers as the picture on the television. All this while when he was only 14 years old!
• 
  Cosette

  I thought this was captivating - my listener fell asleep.
• 
  Cathy

  An inspiring true story of a boy genius. Plowing a potato field in 1920, a 14-year-old farm boy from Idaho saw in the parallel rows of overturned earth a way to "make pictures fly through the air." This boy was not a magician; he was a scientific genius and just eight years later he made his brainstorm in the potato field a reality by transmitting the world's first television image. This fascinating picture-book biography of Philo Farnsworth covers his early interest in machines and electricity, leading up to how he put it all together in one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. The author's afterword discusses the lawsuit Farnsworth waged and won against RCA when his high school science teacher testified that Philo's invention of television was years before RCA's.
  
  Interesting - Read the Author's note at the end for further details.
  Benchmark compatible, technology
• 
  Christy

  Plowing a potato field in 1920, a 14-year-old farm boy from Idaho saw in the parallel rows of overturned earth a way to "make pictures fly through the air." This boy was not a magician; he was a scientific genius and just eight years later he made his brainstorm in the potato field a reality by transmitting the world's first television image. This fascinating picture-book biography of Philo Farnsworth covers his early interest in machines and electricity, leading up to how he put it all together in one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. The author's afterword discusses the lawsuit Farnsworth waged and won against RCA when his high school science teacher testified that Philo's invention of television was years before RCA's.
• 
  Abby Gallier

  What an interesting story! We never really think about all the science and mathematics behind things that we use everyday, but this book describes a boy who loved science, and set out to invent something revolutionary. A little boy named Philo had always been interested in science, and loved reading about it, and learning how things work. When he heard that scientists were trying to invent something called "television," he decided he was going to beat them to it. This book is very informative, and would be a good read-aloud for ages 6-9, as it has some challenging vocablary.
• 
  Marcia

  A fascinating story of how the TV came to be. Philo Farnsworth was a brilliant boy who followed his quest to create the first television. Unfortunately, he did not receive the credit he deserved for his work during his lifetime. A story that celebrates creativity, hard work and perseverance, masterfully told for the audience.
• 
  Shelli

  This is a nearly unbelievable true story of a young boy who solved the riddle of how to make television. The hardest part however, getting funding for and building his model, would be years of dedication, patents and unfortunately lawsuits. A fantastic non-fiction picture book that explains why Philo Farnsworth is not a household name even though he should be.
• 
  Rayjan Koehler

  Interesting read.
  
  ***Spoiler****
  Now 2 things mentioned make me more curious about this guy, and have me wondering if he was possibly a high-functioning autistic(losing a girlfriend because of an obsession and how he came up with the idea). Though that is not quite enough to go on, and the book is too short to get a better idea I think.
• 
  Lihsa

  A children's book written for ages 8 to 12-year olds, the book explains the tenacity of a young boy raised on a farm with little access to education and the means for experimentation.
  
  Nevertheless, he persisted and invented one of the most important devices in history.
  
  Eye-opening and a bit sad, I did enjoy learning about this time in history and Philo Fransworth's place in it.
• 
  Lynn A. Davidson

  Philo Farnsworth was curious from the very beginning. He asked many questions and at an early age showed his genius in electronics. Throughout his life he invented many things, including television, although he lost his patent. After his death his wife worked to be sure his name was credited for his accomplishments.
  This true story is so well written and wonderfully illustrated.
• 
  Kati

  Enjoyed finding this book at work today. I think the author would be appalled at the junk on TV these days, though the ability to watch and own and lend movies and documentaries at home from dad's or streaming might have appealed to his sense of sharing stories and info.
• 
  M

  This was a great children's books that explained how TV was developed. Farnsworth's life was fascinating. I even think I began to understand a little bit about how the early televisions operated.
• 
  Drmkk

  Fascinating biography about a young genesis who never got credit for his life changing invention.
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  Jody

  Philo was amazing! Each state gets to have 2 statues in the capitol in Washington DC. The state of Utah has statues of Brigham Young and Philo Farnsworth.
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  Bradley

  Fun and informative. A joy. =)
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  bet mercer

  another person I didn't know about -- the true inventor of TV (at age 22!), he imagined the solution while plowing potato fields