Thanks for that it was a good read. As was
Matthew Inman's reply.
I always suspected no-one had adequately explained electricity to me until I sat through 3 1/2 hours of
Eric Dollard - History and Theory of Electricity - YouTube. He starts with Volta and winds up at the Radio Corporation of America's Bolinas, CA facility. Explaining polyphase and longitudinal waves along the way, he puts Tesla and Edison in perspective (in the first half as I reacall).
His criticism of the effort to preserve Wardenclyffe is that it's aim is to surpress investigation of the underground parts (that were intentionally contaminated with industrial chemical to discourage research). Tesla's system used telluric currents. That's why his radar could work underwater.
If you like music, look for
Eric Dollard Talks Bach, Tesla and The Church Organ - YouTube