This is a balanced biography of one of the 20th Century's outstanding inventors, published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Baird's first public demonstration of a rudimentary television system. The book is based on primary source documents although many personal recollections are included to add humour and colour. Much material regarding Baird's business in the early 1920s has only recently become available and is covered here for the first time.Although Baird is credited in the UK as the inventor of television, the book considers many interesting areas such as comparing Baird's technical strategy with the work undertaken in industrial laboratories, how his policy compared with the development of wireless by Marconi, and the impact of his business partnerships (despite his patents he did not die wealthy).