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The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America
by Freeberg, Ernest
- Used
- Fine
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- Fine/No Jacket
- ISBN 10
- 1594204268
- ISBN 13
- 9781594204265
- Seller
-
Tipp City, Ohio, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Penguin Press, 2013. Book. Fine. Soft cover. 1st Printing. Large Octavo. Remainder mark on bottom edge of text block..
Synopsis
The late nineteenth century was a period of explosive technological creativity, but arguably the most important invention of all was Thomas Edison’s incandescent lightbulb. Unveiled in his Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratory in 1879, the lightbulb overwhelmed the American public with the sense of the birth of a new age. More than any other invention, the electric light marked the arrival of modernity. The lightbulb became a catalyst for the nation’s transformation from a rural to an urban-dominated culture. City streetlights defined zones between rich and poor, and the electrical grid sharpened the line between town and country. “Bright lights” meant “big city.” Like moths to a flame, millions of Americans migrated to urban centers in these decades, leaving behind the shadow of candle and kerosene lamp in favor of the exciting brilliance of the urban streetscape. The Age of Edison places the story of Edison’s invention in the context of a technological revolution that transformed America and Europe in these decades. Edison and his fellow inventors emerged from a culture shaped by broad public education, a lively popular press that took an interest in science and technology, and an American patent system that encouraged innovation and democratized the benefits of invention. And in the end, as Freeberg shows, Edison’s greatest invention was not any single technology, but rather his reinvention of the process itself. At Menlo Park he gathered the combination of capital, scientific training, and engineering skill that would evolve into the modern research and development laboratory. His revolutionary electrical grid not only broke the stronghold of gas companies, but also ushered in an era when strong, clear light could become accessible to everyone. In The Age of Edison , Freeberg weaves a narrative that reaches from Coney Island and Broadway to the tiniest towns of rural America, tracing the progress of electric light through the reactions of everyone who saw it. It is a quintessentially American story of ingenuity, ambition, and possibility, in which the greater forces of progress and change are made visible by one of our most humble and ubiquitous objects.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Browse Awhile Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1139942
- Title
- The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America
- Author
- Freeberg, Ernest
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- 1st Printing
- ISBN 10
- 1594204268
- ISBN 13
- 9781594204265
- Publisher
- Penguin Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2013
- Size
- Large Octavo
Terms of Sale
Browse Awhile Books
Buyer pays shipping, items will be held 10 days while waiting on payment. All items guaranteed as described - 7-day return. Shipping policy: All books shipped via USPS for $5.00 minimum or actual cost. Customers may specify a preference for media mail ($4.50) or priority mailing($6.00), insurance is recommended ($1.00), mailing otherwise at buyer's risk. International packages shipped via Global Priority ($14.00), or actual cost.
About the Seller
Browse Awhile Books
Biblio member since 2005
Tipp City, Ohio
About Browse Awhile Books
We've provided used and out-of-print books to western Ohio readers and collectors since 1980 through our retail store. We have been an active online bookseller since 1997, when we were among the first generation of Bibliofind and ABE vendors. We work hard to offer a variety of interesting books, priced competitively, graded and described honestly, delivered promptly and pleasantly. Our 2,000+ square feet shop is located in the heart of the Old Tipp City Historic District, among more than 50 antique and arts shops. We're open 11AM-5PM Tuesday through Friday and 11AM-4PM Saturday. We're a two-minute drive from I-75, about 15 minutes north of Dayton, Ohio. Our current inventory consists of approximately 200,000 books, about 1/3 of which are in the online inventory. A word about descriptions...we attempt to grade and describe books as accurately as possible, so that you will know exactly what you are buying. We want our customers to order with confidence and to reorder with pleasure - if you receive anything other than what you expect, we prefer that it is because we've exceeded your expectations. Many of our books are described as being within Brodart covers or protective sleeves. These are the sort of clear covers that you find on library books, though (of course!) we do not affix them to the book in any way. Virtually all dust-jacketed books are within Brodart covers, whether so described or not.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Remainder Mark
- Usually an ink marking of some sort which indicates that the book was designated a remainder. In most cases, it can be found on...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
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