The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life

100,000 copies sold!

A groundbreaking history of electricity from a scientist and journalist telling the story from an environmental point of view, outlining the effects that this fundamental societal building block has had on our health and our planet.

Over the last 2 centuries, society has evolved a universal belief that electricity is ‘safe’ for humanity and the planet. 5g is being rolled out across the country, despite growing evidence that it is disruptive to our health, our safety, and the environment.

In The Invisible Rainbow, Firstenberg traces the history of electricity from the early 18th century to the present, making a compelling case that many environmental problems, as well as the major diseases of industrialized civilization—heart disease, diabetes, and cancer—are related to electrical pollution.

"Few individuals today are able to grasp the entirety of a scientific subject and present it in a highly engaging manner . . . Firstenberg has done just that with one of the most pressing but neglected problems of our technological age."—Bradley Johnson, MD, Amen Clinic, San Francisco

"[A] masterpiece."—Celia Farber, investigative journalist

"This seminal book...will transform your understanding ...of the environmental and health effects of electricity and radio frequencies"—Paradigm Explorer

Arthur Firstenberg was a scientist and journalist who was at the forefront of a global movement to tear down the taboo surrounding this subject. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University with a degree in mathematics, he attended the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine from 1978 to 1982. Injury by X-ray overdose cut short his medical career. For over four decades he was a researcher, consultant, and lecturer on the health and environmental effects of electromagnetic radiation, as well as a practitioner of several healing arts. Arthur Firstenberg died in 2025.