The Electric War: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Light the World

by Mike Winchell

Overview

The spellbinding true account of the scientific competition to light the world with electricity.

In the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, a burgeoning science called electricity promised to shine new light on a rousing nation. Inventive and ambitious minds were hard at work. Soon that spark was fanned, and a fiery war was under way to be the first to light—and run—the world with electricity. Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of direct current (DC), engaged in a brutal battle with Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, the inventors of alternating current (AC). There would be no ties in this race—only a winner and a loser. The prize: a nationwide monopoly in electric current. Brimming with action, suspense, and rich historical and biographical information about these brilliant inventors, here is the rousing account of one of the world’s defining scientific competitions.

Christy Ottaviano Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250120168
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	01/22/2019
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	632,488
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mike Winchell is the award-winning author of The Electric War, which was an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, an NSTA Best STEM Book of the Year, and winner of the CNY Book Award, among other honors. A veteran English teacher and a secondary education curriculum specialist, he is also the editor of the Been There, Done That anthology series. He lives in upstate New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Calm Before the Storm 5

2 The First Spark 9

3 What's Good for the Goose… 22

4 A Wizard Is Born 40

5 AC/DC, A Current Craze 58

6 Flashes of Light 76

7 What's Mine Is Yours 88

8 Meeting of the Minds 98

9 Earned Success 110

10 The Rabid Animal Versus the Fawn in the Forest 123

11 Death in the Wires 130

12 Shocked… 148

13 …To Death 158

14 In Kemmler's Wake 163

15 All the World's Stage 174

16 One Rises, One Falls 206

Epilogue: After the Storm 223

The Electric War: A Timeline 235

Acknowledgments 243

Bibliography 245

Index 251

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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

School Library Journal

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)

Kirkus Reviews

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

MARCH 2019 - AudioFile