[.ca] Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the ... (ISBN 0375758844)

From Amazon.com:
Jill Jonnes's compelling Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World offers a multi-sided tale of America's turn-of-the-20th-century quest for cheap, reliable electrical power. Along the way, the book profiles key personalities in both the science and industry of electrification and dramatizes the transformation of American society that accompanied the technological revolution. As her sub-title suggests, Jonnes's focus is on the three great personalities behind the building of the electricity industry. But, as she makes clear, the electrification of America was much more than a pathbreaking scientific quest. The genius of such poet-scientists as Nikola Tesla depended on the more finely tuned business skills of George Westinghouse and the towering capital of J.P. Morgan to achieve actualization. And even Thomas Edison and Westinghouse--innovative industrial combatants in the war between AC and DC current--were victims of the far more powerful and conservative financial forces of Wall Street. Indeed, for Jonnes, the story of electricity is as much about the legions of patent attorneys and bankers who controlled the flow of industry as it is about the circulation of current. Her sophisticated portrait of Gilded Age science, business, and society brings new light to the forces that underlie technological revolutions. As she reveals, it is not so much the great public men of science who directed the destiny of America's eventual empire of light; rather, the path was solidified by those men behind the scenes who were wise enough (and perhaps ruthless enough) to impose their legal, financial, and political dominance onto the scientific innovation--a valuable message for all eras. --Patrick O'Kelley

a disappointment, but very interesting as well:
This is a fairly good book on three pioneers of the electrical revolution: Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse. Only the last was a true industrialist, while the first two were inventors who more or less failed to capture the full value of what they created. The field of battle was was between direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC). Jonnes also attempts to evoke the era - one of huge transition, both technological and social/organizational - in which they lived. The best things about this book are in overview and context. I learned about the business environment and practices during the Gilded era, which was indeed extremely interesting and useful for my current project. This is well researched and clearly written. Moreover, what each of these individuals faced - their frustrations, ambitions, motivations, and methods - are also examined in some detail. While I know a lot about Edison from previous research, this was a gold mine of info on his principal competitors, Westinghouse and Tesla, whose technology (AC) won the battle to become the standard of wire-furnsihed electric power. Edison was an incredible inventor, but his obstinancy for sticking to what he created led him to bypass AC for the less workable DC (this is a pattern that led him to many strategic mistakes thru his career). Tesla was an eccentric visionary and loner, who made great discoveries early on only to get mired into megalomanaical schemes during the last decades of his life. Westinghouse was a true "broker of innovation" - finding and using talent with great efficiacy - and in many ways a brilliant pioneer of corporate and industrial organization; he was also a decent man with populist ideals in a time of ruthless exploitation and manipulation. However, this book failed for me on many counts. First, it did not go into enough technological detail for me - I still don't understand the difference between AC and DC from a scientific point of view. Second, I did not get much of a feeling for a story (billed on the cover as a titanic struggle) that was unfolding: instead, the book jumped around and got bogged down in certian details, such as the grizzly chapter on Edison's promotion of an AC-current electric chair (to scare the public) or the maneuvering that preceeded the COlumbian Exposition. Third, and this is a very personal perception, I did not like the way that Jonnes writes. While her book certainly was not as dry or lifeless as so many academic studies tend to be, I felt she was straining to write as eloquently as McCullough or Schama, which I believe is beyond her talent. This criticism may come from writing 101, but she uses too many adjectives. Waves of panic are "ungulating," electicity is "ethereal," etc., each time failing to find "le mot juste." I really don't mean to be a snob about this - she is a better historian than I ever could be - but her writing style irritated me several times on every page. Recommended with these caveats in mind.

Essential History with Relevance for Today:
This is a splendidly written book, and is essential history for those who seek to anticipate the future. For almost all of us alive today in the United States, electricity has always been there (even if not always so omnipresent). If we think about a world without electricity at all, it is to wonder what it was like to experience the night with only flickering lamps and candles to push back the shadows. I had never considered, however, what it was like to experience the coming of electricity as a new thing in the world. New brightly burning lights, new quiet motors --- a new power coursing invisibly through thin wires. Over the last dozen decades, an electrical infrastructure swept the country and transformed our lives -- most of our energy consumption is now via electricity. Ms. Jonnes captured the excitement of this transformation at it's very source; the inventors and businessmen who made the future happen. Those of us who have been part of the Internet revolution will recognize many similarities in these two revolutions. All of us should acquaint ourselves with this history of the electrical revolution, because already the seeds of a new electrical infrastructure revolution have sprouted which will again transform our economy. Ms. Jonnes book is an excellent education written in an engaging style. Bravo!

Disappointing for the lay reader:
I can't recommend this book for the lay reader. Its grandiloquent title suggests we are in for a treat, to live the compelling tale of the race for electric light. Indeed, the book jacket displays the wondrous shimmer of the newly illuminated Woolworth Building. But, sadly, the story is pedestrian, overly technical and lacking in the human dimensions that cry out for attention. That is, the unholy trinity of Edison,Westinghouse, and Tesla. Perhaps engineers and scientific historians will find it absorbing. Others may be left with a feeling of what might have been a rip-roaring saga of three giants over possibly the greatest invention of its time and, perhaps, one of the greatest in world history. Ms. Jonnes makes little of this chase to rule over the very lifeblood of the nation. The larger than life characters clearly demand more development: Edison, the proponent of the "horrible experiment", the electric chair to discredit his opponents; Westinghouse, a brilliant practical technician and friend of labor; and the urbane Tesla, the virtual electrical mystic, whose theories (and some engineering feats) live on today. The same sketching technique is made of other people and events that pass through this book. How compelling their cameos could have been- Sarah Bernhardt (of Edison's electrical display: "C'est grand, c'est magnifique!"); Edison financier J.P. Morgan ("legendary ferocious eyes...monstrous nose"); the genius Faraday; Astor IV (a Tesla backer); Tesla's mysterious 18-story tower in New Jersey; the Chicago Columbian Exposition won by Westinghouse's lighting; and the assassination of Chicago Mayor Harrison. The writing leaves us with little suspense and a weak understanding of the excesses of the Gilded Age, as reflected in the overweening egos and ambitions of these three competitors and their financiers. A saving grace are the photos - the diamond-like Woolworth Building; Tesla demonstrating his eerie wireless bulbs; a smitten Westinghouse admiring his beautiful wife; the white pigeon that was Tesla's "great love in his final years"; Edison catching winks on his workbench. Unfortunately, there are altogether too few of these, too many electrical renderings, and just too much technical detail.

An Excellent Book!:
This is a book about an important topic in our lives: electrical power. Although the author discusses early discoveries in electricity, the main focus is on the period from the late 1800s to the early 1900s - a period when great advances were made in the development of large scale electrical power generation, as well as on the giants who led the way. The science is discussed, at least to some degree, as are the economics of the time. Mini biographies of Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla are also presented. The writing is clear and engaging such that the book is difficult to put down. My only disappointment was that, in my opinion, the science and engineering aspects were not discussed enough; I think that an appendix with more scientific details would have complemented the book very well. But despite this minor shortcoming, the book certainly succeeds in giving the reader a flavor of those exciting times. Highly recommended!

A suspenseful, terrific tale well told:
How can we be but enthralled by the story of the early years of the utilization of the forces of electricity and its revolutionary impact on Western, no, all of Civilization. These three titans brought a laboratory curiosity, a few patents, and not enough capital, to effect the dramatic improvements in the utilization of fossil energy to replace the efforts of slaves, near slaves, and animals, and to make life better for us all. We have Edison, who started it all with his improved dynamo and the electric lighting system; Tesla and his crucial AC electric motor; Westinghouse who had the business insight and technical acumen to pursue the alternating current. Geniuses, yes. But of a very different sort. Jonnes does an outstanding job of portraying the times, and the interaction of the approaches to solving problems that each of these heroes had. So different, so complementary and so effective. There was nothing else like it anywhere on earth. I suppose anyone reading this review has read a bit about Edison and the light, Tesla and his eccentricities, and Westinghouse and his devotion to his workers. The tale of the Niagra generators and the first long distance transport of electrical power will probably be new to you, and it is a story well-told. But Jonnes has an awful lot to add to the usual stuff. She communicates the downright excitement of it all, the delicious discoveries of the new, and the suspense of the disasters to be overcome. This is no Ph. D. thesis transported into a popularization of science--the technical details are presented in just enough detail to whet your appetite for a deeper understanding of it all, and leave you truly awestruck. How can you ask for anything more?