And the Race to Electrify the World

I would recommend for a high school summer reading project. Perfunctory on science and engineering, laced with irrelevant
factoids (two pages describing Grant's funeral, which had nothing to do with the subject matter among many others), stilted, disjointed sentence structure with excursions into obscure dead ends that yield zero insight into the true difficulties of giants on the horizon of the twentieth century's revolution in physics, engineering and industry. A real disappointment for someone who
retired from the field of electrical engineering and reads widely in history, technology and social history.

Some reviewers focused on the author's overuse of adjectives or a small number of mistakes about electricity. They missed the big point, which is that the book does a great job capturing a historical era, helping us understand why this thing we take for granted - indoor electricity - was such a culture-changing achievement, and altering the picture I had in my head of Edison as the bad guy and Tesla as the good guy - I thought she did a nice job making all characters seems complex and nuanced.

People interested in this era and wanting a novelist's writing ability might try Ragtime.

Produto chegou em minha casa (Brasil) em tempo hábil.Demorou menos de 1 mês, 20 e poucos dias. Estou contente com a compra. Satisfação.
The product has came to my house (Brasil) in correctly time. Spend less time than the prospect. Less than 1 month. I'm glad to bought that book. Satisfaction !!!!

I have not encountered Jill Jonnes before, but she has impressed me mightily with this fascinating account of the electricity wars. It reads like a thriller, with a cast of characters who embody the best and worst of humanity. She brings us struggle, triumph and tragedy as well as a liberal offering of horror and outrage. The egregious money-men who ruthlessly exploit the new technology, the dreadfulness of the first electric execution and the appalling events that lead up to it, the courage and humanity of Westinghouse and Tesla - all this and much more reminds us again of how so many of our ancestors should be admired, while others should be excoriated. As I read I was continually brought back to the struggles and inequalities of our own age and found the book both uplifting and grim. History at its finest.

Jonnes gives us a look at the story of electrification from Edison's discovery of the incandescent light to completion of the Niagara Falls hydroelectric generating station (using Westinghouse equipment based on Tesla's AC patents). She begins with an overview of what was known about electricity-the relationship between electricity and magnetism, discovered by Michael Faraday, and the development of electromagnets by Joseph Henry. Development of practical generators in the 1870s, was soon followed by the first arc lights, but they were cumbersome and too bright for home use. Edison took up the challenge to develop an electric light suitable for home use in 1878, completed in 1879, and installed in New York City in 1882.

Edison firmly believed in his DC power system, but it was poorly suited to transmitting power long distances. Once AC transformers were invented, in 1885, George Westinghouse realized that AC was the more practical system. He licensed Tesla's patents for AC generator and motor and began installing systems. A major battle ensued with Edison promoting DC and charging that AC was unsafe. That resulted in the adoption of the AC powered electric chair as a means of execution. Edison General Electric and Westinghouse found themselves in direct competition many times.

Edison was a darling of the media. His side of the story has been told many times. Westinghouse was personable, but far less open to the press. No biographies have appeared since 1926. Tesla was a frequent publisher, gave numerous demonstrations especially at technical meetings. His eccentric nature leads to some treatments as a man of mystery.

The detailed treatment of the Niagara Power project is much appreciated. This was the first major hydroelectric project in the US. It was financed by a Wall Street syndicate headed by JP Morgan. We see the details of how the bankers brought in experts to get the best available advice on the project. Finally Westinghouse won the competition because he had licensed the Tesla AC patents. There was no nearby customer for the power from Niagara. Buffalo, 26 miles away was the logical one. But the project also spawned numerous industries that took advantage of low cost electric power. This is the founding of well known companies. Among them Alcoa (first production of low cost aluminum), Carborundum (abrasives made by electric furnace), Union Carbide (acetylene made by electric furnace), and Hooker Chemical (chlorine, bleach, alkalis, sodium hydroxide, sodium all made by electrolysis of salt water). Niagara began supplying power to Alcoa on Aug 26, 1895.

The book also gives us a profile of three inventors: Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla. We are shown how financiers dealt with them. In Feb, 1892, JP Morgan and associates merged Edison General Electric with another holding, Thompson Houston, renamed the combine General Electric Co., and put CEO Charles Coffin in charge without even consulting Edison. George Westinghouse lost control of his company after it sank into bankruptcy in the Panic of 1907. He was soon forced out of the company. A proxy fight to regain control in 1911 failed. Tesla licensed his key AC patents to Westinghouse and initially received generous royalties. But he agreed to give up those royalties as part of a Westinghouse rescue plan in the Panic of 1891. His other patents were tied up in a deal with JP Morgan to fund radio development. After Marconi beat him to market, he was unable even to defend his own patents. He died penniless.

This is a great read for those interested in technology and how it all came together. We are left hungering for a second volume to cover the rest of the electrification story. We hear nothing of Samuel Insull, very little of the development of electric street cars, electric railroads, interurbans, the electric automobile, TVA, rural electrification, or the expansion of electrical systems throughout the country. Excellent bibliography. Many references. Index.

An entertaining and informative biography of three important figures in the history of science, including not just their inventions but the "War of the Electric Currents" that was an early example of "format wars", marketing, and lobbying between industrial titans.

Really enjoyed this book--but, full disclosure, I am an electrical engineer and a bit of a science geek. That said, the author provides great detail, and makes the story interesting enough that it would probably satisfy any history buff. At times, it seems like a Dickensian tome--as if he's being paid by the word, and the author seems a bit fixated on fashion, often spending a great deal of time describing what Tesla or Edison were wearing.

All in all a great book, but it is LONG! I read it on the Kindle app, which doesn't give one the benefit of hefting the book before beginning.

Which would win the battle to electrify the world -- AC or DC?

Thomas Edison thought the answer should be DC. Nicola Tesla (backed by George
Westinghouse) thought it should be AC.

DC, developed by Edison, was considered the safest, but had significant limitations for
effectively growing to meet demands of businesses and consumers. AC, developed by
Tesla and backed by Westinghouse, won the battle largely because it was easier to
"scale-up" for growing levels of usage.

This engaging tale describes the development of each system, the financial powerbrokers
who backed each dream (then took over), and the dreamers themselves -- Edison and
Tesla.

A very enjoyable book.

Its fascinating to imagine the world as electricity was coming into its own. And then there's the reality.

This book offers a perspective rarely seen of someone we consider a major American icon, and two others we all know were important but, unfortunately, often can't remember why.

Living in Pittsburgh, I of course know the legend of George Westinghouse -- but most of my knowledge is of the more recent divestiture of his amazing company after years of mismanagement. I have to say I was pleased to find that while he was a Gilded Age industrialist -- perhaps with many of the characteristics that label implies -- his goals and intentions for his products, as well as his sportsmanly handling in many ways of Edison's ridiculous and often atrocious behavior, were quite noble.

I was shocked to learn more about Edison -- our most celebrated inventor -- particularly his tunnel vision and ruthlessness in preserving his self-decided reign over a technology that had more to offer society than any one man could take credit for. Condoning Brown's dog experiements with AC was sick enough -- to hear that he promoted the development of the electric chair simply to get a leg up on his competition (Westinghouse)was truly sad.

As a publicist, I find Jonnes descriptions of information, disinformation and yellow journalism paint a picture of Gilded Age America steeped in lessons we should have learned long ago about news, business and the legends of American icons.

Well worth the read for anyone who loves to find those places where history repeats itself over and over again.

This book is a enjoyable overview and history of it's subject: The early days of the industrialization of electrical power in the United States. While it may not be as "technical" as a electrical engineer may like, it offers sufficient detail for us "armchair" readers who enjoy the history of technology and engineering. I'm sure some important details or individuals are missing or dealt with only briefly, but the book accomplishes what it sets out to do: offer a informative yet entertaining overview of one specific area of American invention and industrialization in the last half of the nineteenth century.

As an Electrical Engineer AND a history buff, I found this book to be outstanding. I expected a drier, more technical discussion but was very pleasantly surprised by how readable the entire book was. In my opinion, Jill Jonnes had a very good understanding of her intended general audience and mixed in just enough technical information to keep the storylines smoothly progressing while not bogging down the reader with tedious electrical theory and details.

With this in mind, this is a great book for just about anyone who wants to further understand how electricity as we know it today came into existence. From the earliest (even ancient) electrical discoveries that she superbly describes in just the right amount of detail, the book easily flows into the inter-twined lives of Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla. Before this book, I vastly underestimated the contributions of Westinghouse and Tesla; I know feel I have a more accurate view of their roles.

Ms. Jonnes does a very good job of placing the efforts of Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla (and their supporting casts, including the financiers) into the proper context of life and society at the time (1870-1910 or so). I feel this is critical since no events or major inventions occur in a vacuum and it greatly improves the storytelling.

In summary, this is an excellent book for most people with an interest in electricity AND history; some of the more critical reviewers, I believe, may be nitpicking a bit too much.

Jill Jonnes's book about the electrical age addresses the lives and workings of two major inventors and one dramatically influential businessman during the time when electricity was first being introduced. The story of the origins of electrical thought as well as the origins of the two greatest electricians, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, is very well told. The book thoroughly discusses the inventions of these two great men stretching from the invention of the light bulb and the direct current system of Edison to the wireless transmission of signals the Tesla invented near the end of his prestigious career. Life in America was changed by electricity and the book shows this through significant events such as the Chicago World's Fair and the first ever execution by the electric chair. Adding in the battle between Westinghouse's alternating current system and the direct current system of Edison, the book is full of corporate fights and disasters. The backbiting that occurs between the AC and DC forces is incredible as men attempt to resist beneficial change in the interest of capital. With Jonnes's great ability to tell the story of the "mysterious fluid," it is easy to become enthralled in the compelling story of how electricity came to be the engine for today's society.

As an Electrical Engineer AND a history buff, I found this book to be outstanding. I expected a drier, more technical discussion but was very pleasantly surprised by how readable the entire book was. In my opinion, Jill Jonnes had a very good understanding of her intended general audience and mixed in just enough technical information to keep the storylines smoothly progressing while not bogging down the reader with tedious electrical theory and details.

With this in mind, this is a great book for just about anyone who wants to further understand how electricity as we know it today came into existence. From the earliest (even ancient) electrical discoveries that she superbly describes in just the right amount of detail, the book easily flows into the inter-twined lives of Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla. Before this book, I vastly underestimated the contributions of Westinghouse and Tesla; I know feel I have a more accurate view of their roles.

Ms. Jonnes does a very good job of placing the efforts of Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla (and their supporting casts, including the financiers) into the proper context of life and society at the time (1870-1910 or so). I feel this is critical since no events or major inventions occur in a vacuum and it greatly improves the storytelling.

In summary, this is an excellent book for most people with an interest in electricity AND history; some of the more critical reviewers, I believe, may be nitpicking a bit too much.

Jill Jonnes's book about the electrical age addresses the lives and workings of two major inventors and one dramatically influential businessman during the time when electricity was first being introduced. The story of the origins of electrical thought as well as the origins of the two greatest electricians, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, is very well told. The book thoroughly discusses the inventions of these two great men stretching from the invention of the light bulb and the direct current system of Edison to the wireless transmission of signals the Tesla invented near the end of his prestigious career. Life in America was changed by electricity and the book shows this through significant events such as the Chicago World's Fair and the first ever execution by the electric chair. Adding in the battle between Westinghouse's alternating current system and the direct current system of Edison, the book is full of corporate fights and disasters. The backbiting that occurs between the AC and DC forces is incredible as men attempt to resist beneficial change in the interest of capital. With Jonnes's great ability to tell the story of the "mysterious fluid," it is easy to become enthralled in the compelling story of how electricity came to be the engine for today's society.

I truly enjoyed this book about Westinghouse, Edison and Tesla (which says a lot because I am rather picky about most books).

Jill Jonnes is an excellent writer and is skilled at recreating the drama behind these three men. Once I started reading, it was very hard for me to stop. I walked away with a deep appreciation for George Westinghouse and his high ethical standards. I loved all the details Jonnes provided.

I also recommend another Jonnes book, "Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels." You won't be disappointed.

i read this because i was interested in tesla but now im interested in edison and westinghouse too. must read this. only caviat is for kindle readers last 20 percent is notes. disappointing cuz the book was soooooo good.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE POOR REVIEW FROM johnjones2! I will base my review of this book based on his ridiculous 2 star review. I have been an Electrical Engineer since the mid-1980s. I enjoyed this book tremendously! This is a book that deals with the history of the THREE PRIMARY men who began the war of AC vs. DC electric currents. They are Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla.
Apparently reviewer johnjones2 does not know his history. Charles Proteus Steinmetz never worked for Westinghouse; he worked for GE (that's common knowledge). He didn't join the GE staff until 1893, which was the year of the Colombian Exposition in Chicago. The war of electric currents was well under way before Steinmetz ever joined the GE staff. As you'll learn in this book (and others), the Colombian Exposition was a major battle ground for the war of electric currents. Steinmetz was an outstanding electrical engineer who later worked (for GE) to help optimize the AC motor by solving hysteresis issues. It was TESLA'S (who began working for Westinghouse in 1888 after a short stint with Edison), NOT Steinmetz's, ALL-IMPORTANT PATENTS that were needed to get the AC business going. That's the way business works! This book is about how the AC / DC war began and how AC proved to be the better technology (that's why our homes are now wired for AC). It's not about how AC systems were later perfected.
Am I bothered that the author didn't mention Steinmetz - heck no. There are many other engineers who have worked on AC systems to make them better and more efficient, did I expect all of them to be mentioned in this book as well - again, heck no! For reviewer johnjones2 to say that the author had ulterior motives for leaving out Steinmetz is completely hilarious!
In 1889, Steinmetz had to flee Germany because of his SOCIALIST activities (ulterior motive?), he then came to the United States. Rudolf Eickemeyer, who had begun building electrical apparatus in his factory in Yonkers, N.Y., gave Steinmetz his start in electrical engineering research. When GE bought out Eickemeyer in late 1892, Steinmetz remained on the staff and began working under the new owners.
Now lets move on to reviewer johnjones2's technical issues. Really, there are none. The author does a good job setting the groundwork for how scientists began studying and discovering the basics of electricity and how that knowledge was developed so that man could harness the power
of electricity and use it in the way that we use it today. The so-called technical errors that are pointed out by johnjones2 are based on very trivial issues. I found his complaints about the authors "scientific drawings" completely off base and without merit. The author provides 11 diagrams and basic electrical schematics that help give the average reader an idea of the concepts involved. They are very basic in nature and are diagrams that are still used today to help explain the fundamentals of electricity. These are not "misleading" in any way. When reviewer johnjones2 complains about the author rating electrical generators in horsepower and says "something that certainly hasn't been done for a century", well, I think he missed the point. This book is about the history of AC/DC electricity and how it was developed a CENTURY ago.
Lastly, as far as johnjones2's comment "she (the author) specifies early systems by the number of bulbs they could light-- as if all light bulbs had the same power consumption (but perhaps they did in the earliest days)", what an ambiguous statement. This one's not even worth the time.
This is an excellent book written by a historian, not an Electrical Engineer (can you imagine how boring this book would have been if an Electrical Engineer had written it). This book is a good read for anyone and especially those who love reading about the Gilded Age era of American history.

If you can stand reading the overwrought and borderline hysterical prose of this book then by all means download it, but I would urge you to first give the free sample a try. It might save you some money.

Jill Jones has produced a wonderful book. She writes with a style that is highly accessible. Ms. Jones draws us into the story in a style that is very similar to the social histories that David Mccullough has become renown for. I opened the book knowing very little about the subject. I was seduced by the excellent voice in the writing. And I was left with an interest in the Electricity Race. Like most good historical accounts, Ms. Jones has created a very clear snapshot into a period of American history centered on interesting individuals. I highly recommend this book.

Very much enjoyed the human side of a very technical tale. Thought it was written in a very engaging way. Would especially recommend for those who have studied electricity in school, but certainly electrical knowledge is not required.

Jill Jonnes has put together a well written and entertaining story of three men for the ages. Most of us have heard of T. A. Edison and have a certain familiarity with his many achievments. Jonnes gives us a view of him that is both interesting and novel. Her bios of Westinghouse and Tesla are a piece of American history that we all should know. Buy it, I think you will like it.

More description always makes books longer, but it does not always make them better. This is the first lesson I learned from Empires of Light: save the details for when they can be truly useful. Jill Jonnes writes like a historian who just finished an intro-to-composition course; however, for this book she probably should have spent more time with aspiring electricians at her local trade school. A book about "the race to electrify the world" would better benefit from its author knowing too much about electricity than from her ability to generate great varieties of adjectives for the same basic subjects--Nikola Tesla is always elegant and awkward, the weather is either oppressively hot or frigidly cold, and the men's Gilded Age facial hair is always worthy of description. Jonnes even repeats some of the same proper descriptions chapter after chapter, as if some readers might read the book as a collection of essays--George Westinghouse travels in "Glen Eyre, his private railcar" and Tesla dines at "Delmonico's, America's most famous restaurant." On the other hand, I found myself wondering about the basic voltage equals current times resistance (V=IR) electricity equation: was Jonnes avoiding it because the inventors of electricity didn't understand it yet, or did she just not think it was important to her readers' understanding of the subject?

There may not be any better books available on this subject, but Jonnes does neither the Gilded Age nor the birth of electrification justice. This book would benefit either by being edited to half its length or expanded to improve the social and technical context; as written, it's a lukewarm offering which I give three stars.

Why is it that histories of technology are all inadequate and inaccurate? It is easy to find, from many sources, the exact order of battle at Gettysburg, but not why appliances in North America require 120 volts (AC) as opposed to double that in the rest of the world. "Empires of Light" by Jill Jonnes is an ambitious book, and it covers more than simply the bizarre War of the Currents between Edison and Westinghouse. It's a general history of electrical technology until about 1907, and it is highly detailed and descriptive. The book has much to recommend it, especially a profile of George Westinghouse, who, among industrialists in the age of the Robber Barons, was a remarkably admirable man. (If only there were more like him today!)

Unfortunately, this book is flawed in three ways, and although I'll keep it on my shelf, I can't bring myself to review it with any enthusiasm.

(1.) We in the USA like to think that everything of any value was invented here, by patriotic (white) Americans. (Ask your friends and neighbors where the automobile was invented, and they'll no doubt say America.) So it is that, from page one, Ms. Jonnes gives absolute and unqualified credit to Thomas Edison for being the sole inventor of the incandescent light bulb. The more one researches the matter elsewhere, it becomes apparent that Edison invented nothing, and there were many light bulbs made by many different men for at least fifty years before Edison first tried his hand at it. Many of these bulbs had carbon filaments, and many of the carbon filaments were made from bamboo fiber. Most were vacuum bulbs. According to Gavin Weightman's book, The Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World 1776-1914, "The use of [Joseph] Swan's lamps in Godalming in 1881 was the first practical use of the modern light bulb." But the name of Englishman Joseph Swann is absent from "Empires of Light" as an inventor, and the name Swann is mentioned only in passing when the Edison Company had to merge with the Swann Company in the UK so as to avoid infringing on Swann's patents for the light bulb.

Why has Edison been given so much credit for inventing the incandescent bulb? According to Weightman, at an electrical exposition in Paris, Edison's lackeys bribed the judges comparing the merits of various bulbs to choose Edison's bulb. (Highly plausible, considering Edison's knavery against alternating current.) Also, Edison was a tireless self-promoter, eager to impress gullible people (such as Ms. Jonnes). In his endnotes, Weightman adduces some impressive sources, but Ms. Jonnes seems to have gleaned all her information from a recent laudatory biography of Edison. Ms. Jonnes makes no mention of the development of the modern tungsten filament by William Coolidge of GE in 1910. In the matter of the origins of the light bulb, you can find, at many web sites (including Wikipedia), far more information and far more accurate information than in this poor book.

(2.) I am certainly not among those who hold that those of the distaff side are incapable of understanding technology, but this is the second book by a woman that I've read recently (the other being Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light) which garbles the fundamentals of electricity. On page 19, Ms. Jonnes speaks of both "positive and negative" electrons. On page 62 we learn of lampblack being "carbonized." (Will graphite one day likewise be "carbonized"?) On page 70, there is a diagram of an "Ordinary Parallel Circuit" in which the voltage drops as the wiring gets further away from the source. This is not particle physics; this is tenth-grade science, and someone should've told her that the voltage remains the same at all points in a parallel circuit. (You can demonstrate this with a voltmeter and your car. Check the voltage at the battery, the starter post, the dome light, the license-plate light, or anywhere else, and you will see that it's always 12 v. The last lamp doesn't get any less, as in her diagram.) On page 91, Ms. Jonnes describes the *brushes* of an electric motor as "segments of copper that rotated with the armature . . .". Instead of spending so much time in libraries reading the encomia of Edison's press agents, Ms. Jonnes would have profited by going to the corner garage and inspecting a real electric motor.

I don't blame Ms. Jonnes for these errors as much as I blame the book's publisher, Random House. The errors in "Empires of Light" are nowhere near as bad as in other books, and it's impossible for anyone to get all the facts right, especially when they're unfamiliar with any technology, and that's why publishers *used* to have fact checkers and proofreaders. Unfortunately, many new books I've read in the past few years have glaring errors in them, errors which should've been caught during editing. Publishers apparently just don't care anymore.

(3.) The worst thing about "Empires of Light" is the writing. Ms. Jonnes's style is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard in print. The trend in modern popular history books is to add imagined details or dialogue or thoughts that a subject *may have* thought or *perhaps* had spoken. In this book, we get long paragraphs of descriptions of scenes, usually in cities, as Ms. Jonnes imagines them. She takes us back to the morning of July 9, 1889 by painting a picture with her words:
"Through the open windows, for it was summer, came the muted cacophony of Broadway below, newsboys yelling the day's headlines, hawkers tempting passersby with corn on the cob, teamsters lashing their horses forward."
[Sweet corn in early July?]

or

"November 15, 1890, dawned crisp and azure in Manhattan, one of those delicious fall Saturdays where the air shimmers sweetly, full of life's promise and tempered by autumnal tristesse."

Well, yessss . . . [clearing of throat] That may be quite nice for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but I don't believe that people who pick up a book about the history of electrical service are looking for the setting of a fanciful scene of "autumnal tristesse." I doubt that even the poetry magazines are accepting such claptrap.

Ms. Jonnes adores her own words, so the more of them, the better. There is not a noun in this book which lacks an adjective. Pronouns are shorter, so each gets two adjectives. In this book
no man has a jaw; he has a "jutting jaw"
there is no mustache but a "huge mustache"
there is never wind; instead, there is a "sultry spring zephyr"
it doesn't rain; there is "a gusting downpour"
it doesn't rain; there is a "stubborn drizzle"
there is no lake; there is "glistening water"

Redundancies mean nothing to her: ". . . working largely at night when the city's much maligned street-cleaning crews spread out to remove the two or three million pounds of equine manure left behind each day by the city's 150,000 horses." [Is that as opposed to *feline* manure from horses?] There is "squishy mud" and "powerful locomotives" and ". . . stank of horses for equine trams."

Throughout the book, Tesla never speaks in public without yet another reminder that he spoke "perfect, but accented English."

Of course, every threadbare cliché that one can image must make an appearance:
stifling dust
sweltering heat
blistering heat
pelting rain
a warm sultry evening

At first, I thought, If I can make it through a book by Jacqueline Susann, I can slog through this mess, but then I kept on reading out of morbid curiosity, eager to see how many superfluous adjectives she could pile-up.
"The soaring Eiffel Tower and the amazing American wizard Thomas Edison, whose multilingual phonographs dazzled all visitors to the exposition's huge . . ." [pg.225]

I see by the dust jacket that Ms. Jonnes has a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University! In Baltimore! The home of H. L. Mencken and James M. Cain and Russell Baker and Upton Sinclair? Where Poe is buried?

And now this? O alas and alck! Pity yon Baltimore! Dismay! Dismay! Fie on thee, O prolix autumnal tristesse! Begone!

But other than those three things, the book is OK.