When They Hid the Fire : A History of Electricity and Invisible Energy in America.
French, Daniel.
When They Hid the Fire : A History of Electricity and Invisible Energy in America. - 1st ed. - 1 online resource (263 pages) - Intersections Series ; v.2 . - Intersections Series .
Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. English Roots, Utopia Found and Lost -- 2. The Energy Revolution and the Ascendancy of Coal -- 3. The Conundrum of Smoke and Visible Energy -- 4. Technology and Energy in the Abstract -- 5. Of Fluids, Fields, and Wizards -- 6. Energy, Utopia, and the American Mind -- 7. Turbines, Coal, and Convenience -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Index.
Daniel French examines the American social perceptions of electricity as an energy technology between the mid-19th and early decades of the 20th centuries. Arguing that both technical and cultural factors played a role, French shows how electricity became an invisible and abstract form of energy in American society, leading Americans to culturally construct electricity as unlimited and environmentally inconsequential--a newfound "basic right" of life in the United States.
9780822981930
Electric utilities-United States-History.
Electronic books.
HD9685
333.7932
When They Hid the Fire : A History of Electricity and Invisible Energy in America. - 1st ed. - 1 online resource (263 pages) - Intersections Series ; v.2 . - Intersections Series .
Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. English Roots, Utopia Found and Lost -- 2. The Energy Revolution and the Ascendancy of Coal -- 3. The Conundrum of Smoke and Visible Energy -- 4. Technology and Energy in the Abstract -- 5. Of Fluids, Fields, and Wizards -- 6. Energy, Utopia, and the American Mind -- 7. Turbines, Coal, and Convenience -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Index.
Daniel French examines the American social perceptions of electricity as an energy technology between the mid-19th and early decades of the 20th centuries. Arguing that both technical and cultural factors played a role, French shows how electricity became an invisible and abstract form of energy in American society, leading Americans to culturally construct electricity as unlimited and environmentally inconsequential--a newfound "basic right" of life in the United States.
9780822981930
Electric utilities-United States-History.
Electronic books.
HD9685
333.7932