The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies
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- Create Date：2022-05-02 11:21:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Paul Fischer
- ISBN：1797139290
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Summary
A page-turning history about the invention of the motion picture and the mysterious man behind it—detailing his life， work， disappearance， and legacy。
The year is 1888 and Louis Le Prince is finally testing his “taker” or “receiver” device for his family on their front lawn。 The device is meant to capture ten to twelve images per second on film， creating a reproduction of reality that can be replayed as many times as desired。 In an otherwise separate and detached world， occurrences from one end of the globe could now be viewable with only a few days delay on the other side of the world。 No human experience—from the most mundane to the most momentous—would need to be lost to history。
In 1890， Le Prince was granted patents in four countries ahead of other inventors who were rushing to accomplish the same task。 But just weeks before unveiling his invention to the world， he mysteriously disappeared and was never seen or heard from again。 Three and a half years later， Thomas Edison， Le Prince’s rival， made the device public， claiming to have invented it himself。 And the man who had dedicated his life to preserving memories was himself lost to history—until now。
The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures pulls back the curtain and reveals the riveting story of both Louis Le Prince’s life and work， dispelling the secrets that shroud each。 This captivating， impeccably researched work presents the never before told history of the motion picture and sheds light on the unsolved mystery of Le Prince’s disappearance。
The year is 1888 and Louis Le Prince is finally testing his “taker” or “receiver” device for his family on their front lawn。 The device is meant to capture ten to twelve images per second on film， creating a reproduction of reality that can be replayed as many times as desired。 In an otherwise separate and detached world， occurrences from one end of the globe could now be viewable with only a few days delay on the other side of the world。 No human experience—from the most mundane to the most momentous—would need to be lost to history。
In 1890， Le Prince was granted patents in four countries ahead of other inventors who were rushing to accomplish the same task。 But just weeks before unveiling his invention to the world， he mysteriously disappeared and was never seen or heard from again。 Three and a half years later， Thomas Edison， Le Prince’s rival， made the device public， claiming to have invented it himself。 And the man who had dedicated his life to preserving memories was himself lost to history—until now。
The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures pulls back the curtain and reveals the riveting story of both Louis Le Prince’s life and work， dispelling the secrets that shroud each。 This captivating， impeccably researched work presents the never before told history of the motion picture and sheds light on the unsolved mystery of Le Prince’s disappearance。
Reviews
Dawn Michelle
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The title says it all - this is a tale of talent， obsession and where that obsession leads to and how the man at the heart of it all didn't live to see just where his obsession led to。 Filled with intrigue， accusations of thievery [looking at you Thomas Edison here - this is pretty eye opening and thought-provoking and to be honest， not all that surprising]， and of course movie making [including all the tech stuff that， to be honest， made my eyes glaze over]。 It was an intriguing read [though to The title says it all - this is a tale of talent， obsession and where that obsession leads to and how the man at the heart of it all didn't live to see just where his obsession led to。 Filled with intrigue， accusations of thievery [looking at you Thomas Edison here - this is pretty eye opening and thought-provoking and to be honest， not all that surprising]， and of course movie making [including all the tech stuff that， to be honest， made my eyes glaze over]。 It was an intriguing read [though to be honest， it wasn't one I was looking forward to each day - once I started listening， it was good， but getting there was never something I wanted to do]。 Overall， this was a decent read - if you love movies and do not have an issue with an overwhelming amount of tech， this is the book for you。 Thank you to NetGalley， Paul Fischer， and Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Pickle。
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3。75* Fascinating！ The ‘new，’ later inventions （Le Prince was on the brink） of Edison’s Kinetograph， and then the Lumiere brothers must have been particularly painful and suspicious infringements for Lizzie- Louis Le Prince’s wife。 “Her husbands invention 。。took the world by storm。。。。under different names。。。lining everyones pockets but her own family’s。”Edison deserved even greater scrutiny re。 the patent wars， Le Prince’s disappearance。 Maybe even Adolphe le Prince’s suicide （sadly a year befor 3。75* Fascinating！ The ‘new，’ later inventions （Le Prince was on the brink） of Edison’s Kinetograph， and then the Lumiere brothers must have been particularly painful and suspicious infringements for Lizzie- Louis Le Prince’s wife。 “Her husbands invention 。。took the world by storm。。。。under different names。。。lining everyones pockets but her own family’s。”Edison deserved even greater scrutiny re。 the patent wars， Le Prince’s disappearance。 Maybe even Adolphe le Prince’s suicide （sadly a year before the verdict in question was reversed）。 。。。more
Susan
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Following the life， the accomplishments and the mysterious disappearance of Louis Le Prince in 1890， Paul Fischer has written a book to bring the invention of moving pictures into better focus。 If you thought Edison invented moving pictures， think again。 Even if you have little or no knowledge of photography， this will inform you in an easy to understand form。 More than the mystery of what became of Le Prince， it's his life story and a glimpse of a pivotal time in history。 Le Prince was a genius Following the life， the accomplishments and the mysterious disappearance of Louis Le Prince in 1890， Paul Fischer has written a book to bring the invention of moving pictures into better focus。 If you thought Edison invented moving pictures， think again。 Even if you have little or no knowledge of photography， this will inform you in an easy to understand form。 More than the mystery of what became of Le Prince， it's his life story and a glimpse of a pivotal time in history。 Le Prince was a genius and by 1888 he had numerous international patents for his motion picture。 Well before Edison。 When Le Prince vanished after boarding a train in Dijon， the stage was set for Edison to claim the prize， to rewrite motion picture history。 Despite those patents， they couldn't be defended until one of two events happened - that his body be found or， after seven years when he would be declared legally dead。 Using that delay to his advantage， Edison moved to become THE inventor of motion pictures。 It makes for an enthralling history lesson。My thanks to the publisher Simon Schuster and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
John Bleasdale
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Really good
Alec
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I didn’t care so much about the minutiae of the inventions， but the book was still a fun little read。
Kasia Hubbard
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To find out that Thomas Edison was such a thief of other's ideas， who would have ever thought of it？ I really appreciate the way the author went into detail of all the ins and outs of the photography business and it's components， chemicals， the process in general， because the details actually mattered。 Not only for the patents and lawsuits that inevitably came up during the inventive years as well as later years， but also in giving credit where credit was due， to those who were the actual invent To find out that Thomas Edison was such a thief of other's ideas， who would have ever thought of it？ I really appreciate the way the author went into detail of all the ins and outs of the photography business and it's components， chemicals， the process in general， because the details actually mattered。 Not only for the patents and lawsuits that inevitably came up during the inventive years as well as later years， but also in giving credit where credit was due， to those who were the actual inventors and knew their instruments well。 I mean， to get the name of the invention wrong kind of points out that it might not actually be your brain child。 Le Prince's story comes to life， the human aspect of his relationship with his wife and kids to the creative process of tinkering with his invention through the various phases as he was determined to bring his vison to life。 It's the stories like these that get lost in time until someone brings them out of the darkness。 Thank you Paul Fischer for doing just that。 Le Prince's story has been well documented and I believe his family would be appreciative of getting the truth told。 *I received a copy of this book from NetGalley。 This review is my own opinion* 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this new book on the history of motion pictures。The history of innovation gives proof to the statement that success has many parents。 Especially when that success changes the world， and helps give birth to an industry that almost one hundred fifty years later has given us Marvel Studio movies that make billions of dollars。 In the creation of motion pictures many take credit。 Edison who used his wealth to contro My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this new book on the history of motion pictures。The history of innovation gives proof to the statement that success has many parents。 Especially when that success changes the world， and helps give birth to an industry that almost one hundred fifty years later has given us Marvel Studio movies that make billions of dollars。 In the creation of motion pictures many take credit。 Edison who used his wealth to control patents on the work of William Kennedy Dickson， the Lumière brothers， and others。 However the true first might have been a French inventor and artist who has been forgotten for many reasons， including possibly murder， Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince。 Paul Fisher in his book The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession， Murder， and the Movies attempts to tell the life of this man， and why he disappeared from both history and his family。 In 1888 Le Prince tested a device， a hand cranked single lens camera with paper negative film from Eastman， filming his family as they roamed around a garden， with more footage of his sone playing an accordion。 This film was possibly the first produced， and was well ahead of other inventors and their experiments。 A lack of money， and numerous problems， both business and personal held Le Prince up from capitalizing on his work， though the did patent what he could in four countries。 On a simple visit to his brother Le Prince disappeared， never to be seen again。 Conspiracies arose to what had become of Le Prince， was it assassins dispatched be Edison， just a simple robbery/ homicide， or was the problems to much for the man， and he fled his friends and family in a fit of madness。 The family assumed foul play， trials both physical and emotional continued for years， and the mystery of Le Prince's disappearance was never solved。 The book is a history of the development of the camera and motion pictures with a true crime tacked on， that does nothing for the story。 The book seeks to be a Erik Larson， but the crime is not much of a story， nor does it make up for the purple prose that seems to fill the book。 There is no resolution to Le Prince's disappearance。 Blame is put onto a character， but there is not proof， nor even a body。 There is a lot of not even circumstantial evidence， more a lot of could be， maybe。 The history is interesting， but the writing is a tad clunky， and this true crime aspect is just too big of an influence on the book， for a crime that no one knows what it is。People with an interest in film will enjoy this， true crime fans might have more of a problem。 There is a lot of interesting history and facts about cameras， and the innovators and inventors， and for those unaware of what Thomas Edison was really like this might come as a surprise。 。。。more
Alice Grace
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Overall Review: While I wouldn't call this one page turning because it's just not a word that seems to really fit nonfiction works， this book is definitely worth a read！ Fischer's writing style is great for explaining the ins and outs of photography through to the creation of the first film camera。 He has just enough creative flair that The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures reads a little more like a novel than research， and he never says he's not going to portray Thomas Edison as he （and many ot Overall Review: While I wouldn't call this one page turning because it's just not a word that seems to really fit nonfiction works， this book is definitely worth a read！ Fischer's writing style is great for explaining the ins and outs of photography through to the creation of the first film camera。 He has just enough creative flair that The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures reads a little more like a novel than research， and he never says he's not going to portray Thomas Edison as he （and many others） sees him。 This book was interesting and taught me so many things！Plot and Setting:The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures is a nonfiction work， so we will talk about tone and how the book flows once again。 Fischer's set up makes sense。 Going into the work， I already knew about Le Prince's mysterious disappearance from a Paris train and the idea that Edison might have been behind it。 However， even if this were news to the reader， it creates an expectation and anticipation for the series of events that follow in the book， but that happened before。 From there， we start to learn about events chronologically。 The whole work flows beautifully， research and direct quotes from letters and other correspondence are integrated seamlessly: it might actually be nonfiction perfection。 Fischer also made it easy to follow setting by pinpointing where each location would have been or still is。 If I had a map， I would definitely be able to find everywhere he mentioned。 Descriptions of settings were just as clear。 Writing and Themes:Fischer doesn't mince words， but he also doesn't use any more than he needs。 It wasn't difficult to understand even the most technical of his camera， film， and projector explanations。 The whole book was pretty easy to read， especially for nonfiction。 Although it was obvious he wasn't Edison's biggest fan， he still talked about him with respect， and Fischer didn't allude to anything he didn't plan on talking through。 The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures was involving and surprising。 And when the summary promised "never before seen" information， Fischer delivered。 The ending still has me reeling from its flawless delivery and the shift from the common dialogue discussed throughout the book。 。。。more
Kendra
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This book is a hot mess。 Has it been edited？ It's full of hyperbole and false drama and purple prose。 The author's research is frequently questionable and sometimes lacking altogether， and it's presented in a way that gimmicky and tabloidesque。 This book is a hot mess。 Has it been edited？ It's full of hyperbole and false drama and purple prose。 The author's research is frequently questionable and sometimes lacking altogether， and it's presented in a way that gimmicky and tabloidesque。 。。。more
Andrew
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There was just too much technical stuff about camera lenses and the like which I skimmed over to be sure but still detracted from my enjoyment of the book。 Plus I think it was overhyped。 Here was no surprising solution to who killed LePrince， if he was even killed（kind of like Capone’s vault）。 But there was still some interesting social history surrounding the invention of the motion picture to warrant three stars。
Gwen - Chew & Digest Books -
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