Jules Thorn Book Review

(Purchased elsewhere at a 25% discount to Amazon price which seems more common of late)

When I first flicked through this book I felt it was a bit of hodge podge, but on reflection the chapters: on employee recollections, Sir Jules’s charity work and the large appendix can be read individually. Unsurprisingly it focused on the author’s (Dr Jim Lewis) area of expertise: Ferguson TVs, but did give some detail of other parts of the THORN empire particularly the early history of its manufacturing in the Lea Valley, Enfield in London. The author has written elsewhere on such being the original Silicon Valley since the vacuum tube diode was developed in the area.

I recollect, from my few years with his company in the mid-80s that Sir Jules was a bit of a hero to various THORN managers, in the same way that Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, developer of the CAT scanner, was at EMI. It was interesting to discover that he did have his foibles.

that said