"Electricity is at the core of all modern life. Despite this, the full story of this revolutionary force has remained untold--until now. Simply Electrifying offers the comprehensive story of one of mankind's most important journeys: from a time when only a few could even imagine a world with electricity to today when, for most of us, a world without electricity would be unimaginable. Since the birth of the modern science of electricity 265 years ago, mankind has built an impressive structure to produce, deliver, and use electricity, thanks to a combination of pioneering science, innovative technology, shrewd business strategy, and pervasive economic and environmental regulation. Simply Electrifying brings to life the stories of the people that made it all possible--from early pathfinders like Benjamin Franklin, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, and Albert Einstein to innovators such as Samuel Morse, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla. Later on, business strategists and economic and environmental regulation driven by many, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and even President Barack Obama, have shaped how we use and understand electricity in crucial ways. Today, Elon Musk and others are on the verge of again changing the way we think about and interact with it. Simply Electrifying is painstakingly researched and beautifully written, showing us how both profit-makers and policy-makers must use a wide-angle lens to truly understand the past and anticipate the future."--Jacket.;Looks at the stories of the researchers, innovators, businesspeople, and regulators who shaped how electricity was understood and used, from early researchers like Benjamin Franklin to contemporary innovators like Elon Musk.;Prologue: Just imagine -- Part one: The age of Franklin : a time of awe and discovery. Benjamin Franklin's kite ; James Watt's steam engine ; Faraday's faith (and Maxwell's equations) -- Part two: The age of Edison : let there be light (and power). Samuel Morse's telegraph ; Thomas Edison's light ; George Westinghouse's and Nikola Tesla's alternative ; Samuel Insull's Electric City, Chicago -- Part three: The age of big : big government, big power plants. FDR's New Deal (for electricity) ; Herbert Hoover's dam ; David Lilienthal's Tennessee Valley Authority ; King Coal's reign ; Albert Einstein's equation (E=mcΒ²) -- Part four: The age of harm : crisis, change, and scandal. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace (and war) ; Rachel Carson's Silent Spring ; California's electricity crisis (and Enron's greed) ; Competition's steady rise -- Part five: The age of uncompromising belief. President Obama's Clean Power Plan ; George Mitchell's shale gas revolution ; Elon Musk's vision (and history's lessons) -- Epilogue: Just imagine.
