I had been eager to learn more about those famous "Elgin" marbles; however, I found the tone of the book inconsistent and its writing style rather a distraction, beginning on page 7 when Lord Elgin tells the expectant Lady E. to go below decks at the threat of a naval …more battle, and she responds, "Not a chance, Your Lordship" -- in 1799! Just a few pages later, the author tells us that the lady's pregnancy causes her to feel so sleepy that she nearly nods off during a 19-round cannon salute!

Nevertheless, Lady Elgin was truly remarkable, and her story should be more widely known. The author's device of relating her history in tandem with that of Aspasia, the consort of Pericles, was a good one. There are many parallels, including the countless gifts and virtues each woman is credited with.

Upon finishing this book, I followed the author's suggestion to read more abut Lady E, in the recent biography by Susan Nagel. (less)

This is a book filled with luminance, suspense and mystery. In the first few chapters the mystery deepens because we are never quite sure who is who, or where, or when. As we travel with the author we begin to understand that we must always ask, who is who, and where, and …more when? Hunt leads us through theories of time travel, energy amplification and electricity, blending the ideas and theories of the great, unsung scientific genius of our times, Nikola Tesla, with ideas that remind us more of H.G. Wells’s fiction. In fact, Wells is obliquely referred to via reference to Orson Welles’s famous radio broadcast of the 1930’s and the appearance of a machine for time travel.

Two editorial decisions make the book more difficult to follow than it needs to be: first, a lack of footnotes and attributions will confound readers unfamiliar with Tesla’s accomplishments; and second, the creation of fictional characters who play the roles of real-life individuals causes us to wonder why they have been singled out for anonymity, especially considering the large cast of historical figures.

On the delightful side, the author’s writing style is charming, with many turns of phrase for readers to savor, such as “living as they do on the opposite ends of the sunlight” to describe a father and daughter who work night and day shifts, respectively. Or, near the end of the book, a memory of “a day, years ago now, when I’d asked him what the word ‘scintillating’ meant. He hadn’t quite known the answer, so between the two of us, we made a decision. From then on ‘scintillating’ would be used to describe those moments when the right word just can’t be found.”

This book is a scintillating read. (less)