Edison & the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death - Hardcover

Essig, Mark

  • 3.82 out of 5 stars
    266 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780771030789: Edison & the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0771030789 ISBN 13: 9780771030789
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart Limited, 2004

Synopsis

Thomas Edison stunned America in 1879 by unveiling a world-changing invention – the lightbulb. A decade later, despite his lifelong opposition to the death penalty, Edison threw his laboratory resources and reputation behind the creation of a very different device – the electric chair.

Edison championed the electric chair for reasons that remain controversial. In the mid-1880s, as he wired Manhattan and other cities with his direct-current lines, his rival, George Westinghouse, was undercutting his business with a less expensive alternating current system. The battle for electrical dominance raged just as New York’s legislators were seeking a more humane alternative to the gallows. Called on for his expertise, Edison helped persuade state officials to reject the guillotine and lethal injection in favour of electricity. But there was a catch: Edison insisted that his own direct current was perfectly safe – only Westinghouse’s alternating current could cause certain death.

Was Edison concerned about the suffering of the condemned? Or was he waging a campaign to smear alternating current and boost his own system?

Deftly exploring this chapter in American history, Mark Essig delivers a vivid portrait of a nation on the cusp of modernity and a new examination of Edison himself.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Mark Essig earned a doctorate in American history from Cornell University, where he specialized in the history of science, cultural history, and American literature. This is his first book. He lives and writes in Los Angeles.

From the Inside Flap

Thomas Edison stunned America in 1879 by unveiling a world-changing invention ? the lightbulb. A decade later, despite his lifelong opposition to the death penalty, Edison threw his laboratory resources and reputation behind the creation of a very different device ? the electric chair.

Edison championed the electric chair for reasons that remain controversial. In the mid-1880s, as he wired Manhattan and other cities with his direct-current lines, his rival, George Westinghouse, was undercutting his business with a less expensive alternating current system. The battle for electrical dominance raged just as New York?s legislators were seeking a more humane alternative to the gallows. Called on for his expertise, Edison helped persuade state officials to reject the guillotine and lethal injection in favour of electricity. But there was a catch: Edison insisted that his own direct current was perfectly safe ? only Westinghouse?s alternating current could cause certain death.

Was Edison concerned about the suffering of the condemned? Or was he waging a campaign to smear alternating current and boost his own system?

Deftly exploring this chapter in American history, Mark Essig delivers a vivid portrait of a nation on the cusp of modernity and a new examination of Edison himself.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
McClelland & Stewart Limited
Publication date
2004
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0771030789
ISBN 13 
9780771030789
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
368
Rating
  • 3.82 out of 5 stars
    266 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780750936439: Edison and the Electric Chair

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0750936436 ISBN 13:  9780750936439
Publisher: Walker & Co., 2003
Hardcover