They Called Me Mad

Discover the true genius behind history''s greatest madmen. . From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll the image of the mad scientist surrounded by glass vials copper coils and electrical apparatus remains a popular fixture. In films and fiction he''s comically misguided tragically misunderstood or pathologically evil. But the origins of this stereotype can be found in the sometimes-eccentric real life men and women who challenged our view of the world and broke new scientific frontiers. . They Called Me Mad recounts the amazing true stories of such historical luminaries as Archimedes the calculator of pi and creator of the world''s first death ray; Isaac Newton the world''s first great scientist and the last great alchemist; Nikola Tesla who built the precursors of robots fluorescent lighting and particle beam weapons before the turn of the twentieth century-and more.