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Ballpoint

Ballpoint

by David Evans (Author), Gyoergy Moldova (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2012

    $10.39
Synopsis

L szli B-ri's last name is, in much of the world, a synonym for his revolutionary writing tool. But few people know that B-ri began his career in interwar Budapest as a journalist frustrated with spotty ink; that he escaped fascism by fleeing to Paris and, finally, to Buenos Aires; that a fellow Hungarian, Andor Goy, also played a vital role in the pen's development; and that, in a tragic twist of shared fate, business pressures and politics ultimately deprived both men of their rights to the ballpoint pen. A fascinating life story and history.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 208
 Edition: Reprint
 Publisher: NEW EUROPE BOOKS
Published: 13 Sep 2012
ISBN 10: 0982578113
ISBN 13: 9780982578117

Media Reviews
Mr. Moldova tells this tale of ingenuity and disappointed hopes with considerable verve; his book is a page-turner. -- The Wall Street Journal

Fascinating. . . . [Ballpoint] cleverly traces the squiggly road of two men . . . who struggled, at first as partners and later as rivals, to invent, manufacture and profit from this most quotidian of writing instruments. . . . There's a deliciously voyeuristic feel to this fast-paced . . . work, as if you're eavesdropping on a family conversation.
--Winnipeg Free Press

In terms of history-making inventions, the ballpoint pen is no electric light bulb, but its story is far wilder.
--Maclean's

Ballpoint reads like a fast-paced mystery. Although we know from the start that its technological protagonist--the ballpoint pen--will triumph, we find ourselves repeatedly surprised by the story's unfolding episodes of international intrigue, financial deception, and legal shenanigans.
--Henry Petroski, author of The Pencil and The Essential Engineer

Part biography, part historical novel, this fascinating book tells the remarkable story of L szl B r and Andor Goy, the two Hungarians who made the first workable ballpoint pen and who, despite the resounding success of their product, earned almost nothing from it.
--John Emsley, author of Molecules of Murder and The Elements of Murder

The tale of L szl B r and Andor Goy . . . is a wonderful illustration of the role that human passions, foibles, and genius play in shaping the world around us.
--Robert Friedel, author of Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty

Author Bio
Gy rgy Moldova is one of Hungary's most successful--and prolific--writers, and he is respected in particular for his achievements on the nonfiction front. He has earned the Kossuth Prize, Hungary's most prestigious literary honor, and his work has been translated into many languages, including English, German, Russian, and Chinese. He is the only Hungarian author to have achieved sales of 600,000 copies, and he continues to fare well in the country's bestseller lists to this day. Born in 1934, he lives in Budapest with his family. The author lives in Budapest.