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Edison & The Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death

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Edison's complex legacy: light, death, and morality.

Exploring the dichotomy of innovation and ethics, this book delves into a tale of how one of history's greatest inventors, Thomas Edison, became entwined with the development of the electric chair. Beyond the intriguing story of invention, it sheds light on the social, and political intricacies of the time, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the impacts of technology on society and the moral dilemmas innovators often face.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Sale

Edison & The Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death

Regular price RM43.21 MYR Now RM25.68 MYR Save 41%
Unit price
per
ISBN: 9780802777102
Authors: Mark Essig
Publisher: Walker Books
Date of Publication: 2005-10-01
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: History, Biographies & Memoirs, Science
Goodreads rating: 3.82
(rated by 254 readers)

Description

A Discover magazine Top Science Book. Thomas Edison stunned America in 1879 by unveiling a world-changing invention - the light bulb - and then launching the electrification of America's cities. A decade later, despite having been an avowed opponent of the death penalty, Edison threw his laboratory resources and reputation behind the creation of a very different sort of device - the electric chair. Deftly exploring this startling chapter in American history, Edison & the Electric Chair delivers both a vivid portrait of a nation on the cusp of modernity and a provocative new examination of Edison himself. Edison championed the electric chair for reasons that remain controversial to this day. Was Edison genuinely concerned about the suffering of the condemned? Was he waging a campaign to smear his rival George Westinghouse's alternating current and boost his own system? Or was he warning the public of real dangers posed by the high-voltage alternating wires that looped above hundreds of America's streets? Plumbing the fascinating history of electricity, Mark Essig explores America's love of technology and its fascination with violent death, capturing an era when the public was mesmerized and terrified by an invisible force that produced blazing light, powered streetcars, carried telephone conversations - and killed.
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Edison's complex legacy: light, death, and morality.

Exploring the dichotomy of innovation and ethics, this book delves into a tale of how one of history's greatest inventors, Thomas Edison, became entwined with the development of the electric chair. Beyond the intriguing story of invention, it sheds light on the social, and political intricacies of the time, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the impacts of technology on society and the moral dilemmas innovators often face.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.