Product Description:
Rare Book
Review:
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"This is an eminently readable account of the early years of electrical technology, as engineers and scientists in the pre-Edison years searched for practical uses of electricity. Schiffer weaves a fascinating account of machines and the humans who made and used them, focusing not only on the technology but also on the social, political, and commercial contexts in which electricity played an ever-expanding role. A great book!"--Michael J. O'Brien, Dean, College of Arts and Science, and Director, Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri
""Power Struggles" tells the story of practical electricity in a way that readers at any level will find engaging and authoritative. But lurking beneath the surface, unobtrusively, is a significant theoretical advance--one that captures the best of social constructivism without ignoring the undeniable material realities of volts and amps, dc and ac, and storage vs. transmission. For any reader with an interest in electricity in the pre-Edison epoch, this is a synthesis worth savoring."--Bryan Pfaffenberger, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, University of Virginia
"Schiffer's book highlights the unexpected and sometimes quirky nature of the history of electrical technology. His clear prose and careful scholarship lead the reader through a complex slalom course that examines technological history from physics to personalities and from scientific to market-driven demands in a narrative that challenges conventional assumptions about technological 'progress.' Bravo!"--Richard Gould, Department of Anthropology, Brown University
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