From the Publisher
An NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book
An NSTA Best STEM Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
A Grateful American Book Prize Honor Book
Winner of the CNY Book Award in Nonfiction
"Readers will be electrified by his three main characters and further enlightened by numerous period photographs."—Booklist
"The war of the currents and its larger-than-life personalities are illuminated by a flickering light. . . the men and the historical events provide plenty of drama."—Kirkus Reviews
"A narrative nonfiction account of cutthroat competition . . . the prose [is] quite inviting and the text is rich with anecdotes. . . which illustrates the debut author’s careful research and commitment to storytelling. Purchase where narrative nonfiction flies off the shelves."—School Library Journal
School Library Journal
12/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—A narrative nonfiction account of the cutthroat competition among Thomas Alva Edison, Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, and a host of stakeholders during the Gilded Age in the United States. This volume is plainly about the intersecting ventures of three white men and is void of discussion about race and gender dynamics in this history. That said, a sense of morbid fascination will grab readers as the author opens the book with a retelling of the first execution by electric chair. This chilling moment serves as an entrance to the crux of the narrative—the battle between alternating and direct current electricity. The informal tone makes the prose quite inviting and the text is rich with anecdotes, such as Tesla's inventive inspiration via the family cat and Westinghouse's revelation via a magazine subscription solicitation, which illustrates the debut author's careful research and commitment to storytelling. Edison is characterized as viciously competitive, defending his direct current system. Meanwhile, Westinghouse is shown as a benevolent leader, and Tesla embodies enigma until his final days. Scientific explanations are incorporated, but this work focuses on the social aspects of this "war." VERDICT Purchase where narrative nonfiction flies off the shelves.—Angela Wiley, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
MARCH 2019 - AudioFile
The ebullient calliope music and jaunty tone of narrator Greg Tremblay that begin this audiobook belie the import of its world-changing topic. Listening to technical explanations of the inventors’ discoveries in Tremblay’s even diction and smooth phrasing helps listeners understand the details of the race between Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nicola Tesla to establish the foundation for our nation’s power grid. Listeners are given a way to differentiate between A/C and D/C with examples, including details on animal testing and the electric chair, that are communicated calmly and authoritatively. This lets the listener know just how important electricity is and leaves them with an understanding of how the interactions of these men changed the lives of every person who has come since. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-10-28
The war of the currents and its larger-than-life personalities are illuminated by a flickering light.
In the 1870s and 1880s, two competing systems of electrical current were backed by three very different men. Thomas Alva Edison, the "Wizard of Menlo Park," advocated for direct current, while inventor Nikola Tesla, a Serbian immigrant, and George Westinghouse were leading proponents of alternating current. The potential for acclaim and riches was high, but it all came down to which system—direct or alternating current—would prevail. Edison had the name recognition but a flawed system, while Tesla and Westinghouse were confident in alternating current's superiority, even when it was branded too dangerous in the press. It took a world's fair, court battles, and worldwide financial panic to yield a winner in the war of the currents. Although the men and the historical events provide plenty of drama, Winchell (Been There, Done That: School Daze, 2016, etc.) blunts the impact by spending too much time at the beginning of the book on the development of the electric chair and its first victim. Black-and-white photographs and technical drawings supplement the text, which is based on extensive primary and high-quality secondary sources. There is unfortunately no mention of influential African-American inventor and Edison employee Lewis Latimer, who patented the carbon filament.
The appeal of the events shines through despite a shaky start. (timeline, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 12-16)
