Errors in 'American Genius'

[Jack Sullivan]

Thanks for that one Patent. I have been wondering about that one for several years now. And Jack, it is not personal at all. I just don't get how you, as yet, have had nothing good to say about the book. Generally, critiques on books are done after a book is completely read. And better to be done by someone who has a more complete understanding of the particular subject. It is a fantastic book even with all of of its errors. Doug

I believe I mentioned that I purchased the book primarily to extract its patent data. When I saw that that data could not be relied on, I started to document the errors & their corrections in an effort to have the correct information in my own files. It's been very time consuming but productive & a process that goes necessarily chapter by chapter rather than starting at the end of the entire book. I recall that it might have been you who suggested that I post my results. Others have encouraged me in this effort because this book is used as a reference by antique lock collectors & others might find my observations useful in the future.

As far as havinng anything to positive to say about the book, the photography is generally excellent. It is also a good primer on the Mossman collection which I hope to visit later this year.

I am generally interested in the history of technology & this book will become a valuable addition to my library.