Edison and the Electric Chair : A Story of Light and Death

New York: Walker & Company, 2003. Brand New condition -- both book and dust jacket are in perfect condition. A gorgeous, pristine copy -- fresh and crisp. Bright, shiny, clean, square, tight, and unmarked. Sharp corners. NOT price-clipped ($26.00). NO chips. NO tears. NO creases. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. NOT a book club edition. In the early days of the electricity, Thomas Edison invested heavily on direct current. His bitter rival, George Westinghouse was undercutting Edison's business success with a less expensive alternating current system. What to do??? Invent an electric chair that kills instantly. That should convince the public that his competitor's alternating current was life threatening -- much too risky. First printing, with complete number row (10 987654321) on the copyright page. Illustrated with numerous old photographs. List of chapter notes/sources. Index. Bound in the original purple boards, lettered in shiny silver on the spine. From the dust jacket: "Thomas Edison stunned America in 1879 by unveiling a world-changing invention -- the light bulb -- and then launching the electrification of America's cities. A decade later, despite having been an avowed opponent of the death penalty, Edison threw his laboratory resources and reputation behind the creation of a very different sort of device -- the electric chair. Deftly exploring this startling chapter in American history, EDISON & THE ELECTRIC CHAIR delivers both a vivid portrait of a nation on the cusp of modernity and a provocative new examination of Edison himself. Edison championed the electric chair for reasons that remain controversial to this day… Was Edison genuinely concerned about the suffering of the condemned? Was he warning the public of real dangers posed by the high-voltage alternating wires that looped above hundreds of America's streets? Or was he waging a campaign to smear alternating current and boost his own system? Plumbing the fascinating history of electricity, Mark Essig explores America's love of technology and its fascination with violent death, capturing an era when the public was mesmerized and terrified by an invisible force that produced blazing light, powered streetcars, carried telephone conversations -- and killed." Keywords: Thomas Alva Edison. . First Printing of the First Edition. Hardcover. New/New dust jacket. 8vo. (ix), 358pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.