Sometimes coming up with a great idea is only half the battle; then you have to wrestle it away from major corporate infringers. John Seabrook's Flash of Genius renders the David-versus-Goliath story of Dr. Bob Kearns, the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper that we all take for granted. According to Kearns, he got the idea for his brainchild at his 1953 wedding reception when a champagne bottle cork exploded into his left eye, causing him to blink. (Kearns later lost use of the eye and his marriage ended in a bitter divorce, but such is the price of genius.) The Case Western–trained engineer designed his "blinking" windshield wiper in his Detroit basement, but he spent much of his career fighting patent cases against General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and others. He won most of the cases but lost the war: He never regained sole control of his invention. A poignant story about a stubborn professor.