"[Empires of Light" is] a very accessible and informative
historical account that will be fascinating reading for a general
audience as well as those with a more specialized interest."
-"Booklist
"Empires of Light" is a thoroughly engaging and highly informative
account of three inventors who pioneered the production and
distribution of electricity. Without these three engineers the
world would simply not be what we know today." -Henry Petroski,
author of The Evolution of Useful Things"
"[Empires of Light" is] thoughtful and well paced." -"Kirkus
Reviews
"[Empires of Light is] a crackerjack account of the race for
electrification." -"San Francisco Chronicle
"Jill Jonnes' Empires of Light is the captivating-no, let's say
electrifying-saga of the "War of the Electric Currents" fought at
the close of the 19th century with typical Gilded-Age excesss by
Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse. From the
electrification of J. P. Morgan's New York mansion to
Westinghouse's subjugation of Niagara Falls, Jonnes explains in
human terms how alternating current achieved dominance over direct
current, a victory of incalculable importance in the history of the
world-and she tells the story with great, at times even macabre,
verve, as in her account of the invention of the electric chair and
its horrifying first use. Along the way she solves numerous little
mysteries of electric power, among them why Broadway became
nicknamed "The Great White Way." -Erik Larson, author of Isaac's
Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History"
"Empires of Light is a fascinating and vivid portrait of a
tumultuous era. In a fast-paced narrative, Jill Jonnes recreates
thepersonalities, technologies, and corporate intrigues that
changed America by-literally-electrifying the nation." -Lauren
Belfer, author of City of Light
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