Kindle
$14.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$24.36
Paperback
$15.50
Buy new:
-16% $24.36
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon
Sold by: Composey LLC
$24.36 with 16 percent savings
List Price: $28.99

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$24.36 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.36
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Sold by
Composey LLC
Sold by
Composey LLC
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$11.10
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$24.36 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.36
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Paul Fischer
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies Hardcover – April 19, 2022

by Paul Fischer (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 158 ratings
See all formats and editions
Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
iphone with kindle app
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.

View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.

Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.

Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: Link to the kindle app page Link to the kindle app page
Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.
View Kindle Edition
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$24.36","priceAmount":24.36,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"36","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"izRj041R0uIsmQUqxzfObXDOuxdRdvtdyqHNUT8jtzhKOmDuKzvf7GuHIjY%2FdIC0a9LIRojj2qLyICV8APV4G%2F%2BoV2X9uSYP6dRmBf4u1id87uI9HGPQG98pjERd16eNM4csrzeXw8no08nvoHAFEZ%2BmKF4ennxniLfTryvKAi7RHBXiAyBxhLyYX5y5OFIJ","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$11.10","priceAmount":11.10,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"10","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"izRj041R0uIsmQUqxzfObXDOuxdRdvtdBXLtboCfkwDGIyTTP%2FwQWYuVUqSB8QxV4%2FUiF248jRp7Ny9n6ww8m%2B04w3HM%2FSk8kacN5gP4QHKXmb4kKEpWkHmVvf%2F7PfbF8Z%2FZr85xswC4Pcy5gsD3hzTahEeqHOh88FeMNBiFrUjPg9oz8oT2Cw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

One of the New York Times Best True Crime of 2022

A “spellbinding, thriller-like” (Shelf Awareness) history about the invention of the motion picture and the mysterious, forgotten 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 the 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 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 presents a “passionate, detailed defense of Louis Le Prince…unfurled with all the cliffhangers and red herrings of a scripted melodrama” (The New York Times Book Review). This “fascinating, informative, skillfully articulated narrative” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) presents the never-before-told history of the motion picture and sheds light on the unsolved mystery of Le Prince’s disappearance.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    April 19, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1982114827
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1982114824
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies
$24.36
Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 21
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Composey LLC and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
Hell's Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier
$14.98
Get it May 21 - 28
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Midatlantic Synergy.
+
Blood & Ink: The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime
$10.48
Get it May 22 - 23
Only 18 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by 8 trax media.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A passionate, detailed defense of Louis Le Prince…unfurled with all the cliffhangers and red herrings of a scripted melodrama.”
—New York Times Book Review, editor's choice

“Lively…Mr. Fischer documents with the rigor of a historian and the flair of a true-crime writer.”
—Wall Street Journal

“Tantalizing…Fischer helps us see how revelatory motion pictures were at the time…[a] reminder of how inventiveness can breed fresh hope along with innovation.”
—Washington Post

“Riveting…a compelling saga of both familial and scientific struggle.”
—Washington Independent Review of Books

“An absorbing tale, elegantly written and brilliantly told, with the plot twists and surprise ending worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.”
—The Irish Times

"Fischer combines firsthand accounts with dynamic writing to bring the Victorian era to life...compelling reading."
—Library Journal

“With a spellbinding, thriller-like presentation supported by painstaking research, Fischer puts forth evidence to try to unravel the mystery of Le Prince's life and death. Deftly organized facts, coupled with the technical minutiae of filmmaking, reveal fascinating details of Le Prince's life and the challenges faced in his work, while also exposing the mysterious circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Fischer's stellar, suspenseful narrative is a work of art unto itself that finally gives Le Prince—and the impact of his often overlooked, cut-short creative genius—his due.“
—Shelf Awareness

"Vivid character sketches, lyrical descriptions of the art and science of moviemaking, and a dramatic plot twist make this a must-read."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A fascinating, informative, skillfully articulated narrative of one of the forgotten figures in cinematic history."
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Part detective story and part scientific journal, Fischer’s narrative will appeal to true crime afficionados, history buffs, movie fans, and engineers—what other book can claim that audience?—as it presents a possible alternate history...”
—New York Journal of Books

"Paul Fischer’s detailed and dramatic study of the life of the French inventor Louis Le Prince is a story of elusive images and unexplained death…The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures is an impressive piece of historical research [and] wonderful storytelling."
—Times Literary Supplement

“Probing a still-unsolved mystery at the heart of the world’s most popular art form, the result is both absorbing, forensic and jaw-dropping."
—Total Film

“An absorbing account of the life and mysterious death of Louis Le Prince…Fischer brings sharp forensic skills and a cool head to a narrative that has become hijacked by wild conspiracy theories.”
—Sunday Times

“An exhaustively researched look into not only the Frenchman’s life, but the history of photography and the attempts to move from visual still lifes to actual motion.”
—The Daily Beast

"If Edison is the father of moving film, Louis is its godfather—the original mastermind behind the industry. In his investigative history The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures, author and filmmaker Paul Fischer rekindles Louis's legacy and speculates about his disappearance."
—The Washington Free Beacon

"A real-life story of technology, skulduggery, and courtroom battles."
—Christian Science Monitor

"A deeply involving but also somber book that provides Le Prince with the respect he should have received during his lifetime."
—The Film Stage

"A captivating whodunit [and] a lens on the development of cinema itself...Briskly paced and elegant...Indisputably dramatic."
—Harper's Magazine

"The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures is partly a fascinating history, partly a surprisingly twisted whodunit, and entirely an insightful story of the very human intrigue and interests behind one of the most influential technologies of our time. Take a bow, Paul Fischer."
—Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Poison Squad and the Poisoner's Handbook

"The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures sheds surprising new light on the brutal 19th century inventor wars that led to something we now take for granted: our ability to watch people on celluloid act out stories that move us, make us laugh, make us cry, and change our lives. Paul Fischer brings the forgotten father of the modern movie, Louis Le Prince, to life in big-screen detail, and delivers a gripping tale that holds its own against any Hitchockian thriller."
—Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia and When Women Invented Television

"Most people believe Thomas Edison 'invented' the motion picture. But filmmaker and author Paul Fisher here tells the fascinating and largely-forgotten true story of Louis Le Prince, the actual inventor (with patents to prove it) of this world-changing technology. In 1890, just as Le Prince was scheduled to astound the world with the first public viewing of his astonishing invention, he mysteriously disappeared. In Fisher’s meticulous and entertaining history, we meet Le Prince’s rival inventors, with all their travails and triumphs — including a dark and ruthless Edison. Not only does Fisher make the case that Le Prince is the real father of the motion picture, he has also persuasively solved the 130-year-old mystery of Le Prince’s disappearance and death. A terrific book!"
—Jill Jones, author of Empires of Light and Eiffel's Tower

About the Author

Paul Fischer is an author and film producer based in the United Kingdom. His first book, A Kim Jong-Il Production has been translated into twelve languages. It was nominated for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Nonfiction Book Award. It was chosen as one of Library Journal’s Top Ten Books of the Year and one of NPR’s Best Books of the Year. It was also nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for History & Biography. Paul has also written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Independent, amongst others. In addition to writing, he works as a film producer and is an alumni of the Guiding Lights mentorship program. His first feature screenplay, The Body, based on a short film of his conception, was produced by Blumhouse and Hulu in 2018, starring Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair), Rebecca Rittenhouse (The Mindy Project), Aurora Perrineau (Truth or Dare), David Hull (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Ray Santiago (Ash vs. Evil Dead).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (April 19, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982114827
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982114824
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 158 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Paul Fischer

Paul Fischer

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Paul Fischer is an author and film producer based in the United Kingdom. His first book, A Kim Jong-Il Production, has been translated to date into fourteen languages. It was nominated for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Nonfiction Book Award. It was chosen as an Amazon Best of the Year Nonfiction Selection, one of Library Journal’s Top Ten Books of the Year, and one of NPR’s Best Books of The Year. Paul has also written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Independent, amongst others. In addition to writing, he works as a film producer. His first feature screenplay, The Body, based on a short film of his conception, was produced by Blumhouse and Hulu in 2018, starring Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair), Rebecca Rittenhouse (The Mindy Project), Aurora Perrineau (Truth or Dare), David Hull (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Ray Santiago (Ash vs. Evil Dead).

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
158 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Stinky Greg
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's very well written and includes a lot of history as it weaves the historical account surrounding the race to create the first motion pictures. You'll learn a lot about the various players racing for the end goal of creating the first motion pictures and the impact photography in general and it's history has on this race. The author does a wonderful job of telling the story as it pertains to the true inventor of the cinema, Louise Le Prince and his family. It additionally brings to light the fact that Thomas Edison was guilty of stealing other inventors ideas and inventions and claiming them as his own. A truly great read.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Peter Lang
4.0 out of 5 stars Twist ending
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2022
Verified Purchase
It's a little slow in parts but well researched. We can never know what really happened but the author does a have an interesting theory
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ernie Crofoot
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Intriguing, and Historically Important!
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
As an attorney, TCM fan, and generally curious and eclectic reader, I found this book as described above. It is diligently researched and smoothly written. While not accusing anyone, it certainly exposes the truth, again, regarding the patent thievery of Edison and his team. Its real value to me was to expand my awareness of others involved in the development of moving pictures, as well as ancillary descriptions of the times and cultures represented. A most enjoyable, educational, and thought provoking read.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Eric Biesterveld
4.0 out of 5 stars Well told story.
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
Well told story.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mel R. Scurbica
1.0 out of 5 stars You Have Been Warned
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2022
Verified Purchase
I was looking forward to reading this book. It started out well enough, although I found myself unable to absorb some of the sentences due to weak structure. So I had to reread a lot. The big problem is that I suspect there was only enough material here for a magazine article, so the author had to pad. When he started giving detailed biographical information about the subject's brother-in-law, it was time to bail. I really wanted to discover what this book promised to deliver, but I have a life to live. I'm glad I was able to return my Kindle book and get my money back.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kathryn H
4.0 out of 5 stars Le Prince's story comes to life
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2022
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*
Helpful
 Report
Jon Horwitz
1.0 out of 5 stars The title is very misleading.
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
The title is misleading. Most of the book is about the technology of motion picture cameras with some information about the characters personalities. There is little about the murder. Very disappointing and misleading. If you’re not interested in technology of cameras, don’t waste your time.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Doc Dawn
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
I liked the book and would recommend it to anyone interested in history. The evolution of the motion picture involved many talented people... most of whom are mentioned in this book.
Helpful
 Report