Reviews

"[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