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Edison: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Re TIME's special issue on Thomas Edison [July 5]: Jill Jonnes tries her best to glamorize Edison, but he did not "reluctantly" give in to the AC powering system. He quarreled bitterly to topple it. His propaganda campaign on the "dangers" of AC, begun in the late 1880s, included publicly electrifying animals to death, spreading disinformation and hyping the electric chair, despite his qualms about capital punishment. In fact, the parallels between Edison and modern-day oil tycoons are uncanny.

Casey Cantrell, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.

In nine issues on history, you have focused exclusively on white American males. Several decades ago, history experts began to emphasize social history, including the contributions of women, racial minorities, gays and others. Some suggestions for future TIME issues: Emma Goldman, Fannie Lou Hamer, Chief Joseph, W.E.B. DuBois, Anne Hutchinson or Ida B. Wells.

Richard Primuth, CARROLLTON, GA.

Even more remarkable than Edison was Nikola Tesla, who deserves equal, if not greater, adulation. Had it not been for Tesla's AC power-transmission design, New York City would not have been illuminated so quickly by all that great juice flowing from Niagara.

W.H. Moore, EUGENE, ORE.

I enjoyed your special issue on Edison. I wonder why anyone would want to be involved in engineering and science in the present time? Certainly not for the money. The "best and brightest" go into finance, where they can destroy the economy with impunity and still make a few million dollars. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

J.E. Tomczyk, WEST CALDWELL, N.J.

Seriously Not Funny

I was disappointed to see Joel Stein's "My Own Private India" fuel anti-immigrant sentiment at the dawn of invigorated congressional immigration debate [July 5]. As chair of the 30-member Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and a child of the internment camps, I am concerned that such sentiment exacerbates xenophobic trends. America has the capacity to move beyond fear and intolerance to a space where we embrace differences and recognize the contributions of all peoples to our United States. Stein fails to recognize the strong American fabric immigrants have built, and I call for conscientiousness among thought leaders on the need for immigration reform and policies that respect these contributions.

Michael Honda, U.S. Representative, California-15, WASHINGTON

"The not-as-brilliant merchants brought their even-less-bright cousins, and we started to understand why India is so damn poor." So India is poor because the people are stupid? TIME editors should be embarrassed to have published such a vapid essay.

Ashwin Rao, BUFFALO, N.Y.

As an attorney for South Asian immigrant workers in New Jersey, I am offended by Stein's failed attempt to poke fun at Indian Americans through racist stereotypes. Three decades ago, New Jersey's Indian-American community faced a wave of hate violence, including murder, which led to the passage of the state's hate-crimes law. Hate violence is never a laughing matter.