The nearly men

Examines some of the most important inventions and scientific discoveries of the last four hundred years, and attempts to uncover the stories of deceit and treachery behind each of them. It looks beyond what the common reference sources tend to tell us, and aims to identify people who were truly responsible for such important technological advances as the microchip, the computer, the light bulb, the telephone, radio communication, the laws of planetary motion, and even the theory of evolution. Includes Antonio Meucci, Alan Turing, Robert Hooke, Nikola Tesla, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.--Publisher description.