From Amazon: "The late nineteenth century was a period of explosive technological creativity, but more than any other invention, Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb marked the arrival of modernity, transforming its inventor into a mythic figure and avatar of an era. In The Age of Edison, award-winning author and historian Ernest 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 and capturing the wonder Edison’s invention inspired. It is a quintessentially American story of ingenuity, ambition, and possibility in which the greater forces of progress and change are made by one of our most humble and ubiquitous objects."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much more than I thought I would...and so much that I could probably start from the beginning right now and read the whole thing through again. There was so much to learn and imagine and I know I missed so much being distracted by surgery and a move. I will definitely be keeping it in my collection to go back to from time to time.

The advent of electric lights had such an amazing effect on society. It changed people's sleep patterns, thus changing their entire routines, traditions, and family and social lives. It served to further differentiate between social statuses. It made an impact in so many way that I never could have imagined.

I thought it was interesting that so many species of birds and bugs were discovered as they were found dead at the base of street lights in the mornings. The idea of "electro"hunting and fishing was also interesting.

I was also surprised by how late into the 20th century electricity became common in middle-class homes. Less than 15% of homes were wired for electricity in 1910---and only 70% by 1930.

Other interesting bits:

Pg. 267: "Self-evident today, the proper use of an incandescent lamp is a social practice that, according to one electrician, was misunderstood by 99 percent of Americans in the early twentieth century. Why pay so much for electric light, these customers surely wondered, only to hide it behind a shade or to place it out of the line of sight... Such an idea must have seemed like the scheme of unscrupulous electric-current salesmen eager to sell customers more light than they needed."

Pg. 283: "These changes in technology produced a corresponding change in the way middle-class American families interacted once the sun went down. Some complained that since family members felt less compelled to draw together each night around a common lamp, their bonds had weakened and the art of conversation had suffered. People talked less and read more, as cheaper books and more evening light encouraged the explosive growth of what people at the time called a new 'reading habit.'"

Lastly, I was compelled to ponder the last line of the book and wonder about the actual validity of this quote from Franklin Roosevelt: "Electricity is no longer a luxury, it is a definite necessity."

I wonder---how would our society get by if we no longer had access to electricity? ( )

Another fun book all about light and those times... ( )

Really enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book. The history of electricity and the changes it made to America were very interesting. Author had an engaging writing style. Wanted to finish the book, but work got in the way and I never got to pick it back up. ( )

This book needs a different title. The star of the show is the electric light itself, not Edison. While the author does write about Edison’s part in the devolpment of the electric lightbulb and electricity, much more is written about the light itself and electricity and the effect they had on society. It really wasn’t “Edison’s Age.” While some of the chapters were quite interesting, others were deadly boring, and after awhile, seemed repetitious. Not a bad account of the period when cities and homes first became electrified, just not a great one. ( )

Joy's review: For me, the best part of this book was reflecting on just how much as changed since my grandparents time. Electricity is something we all take completely for granted and it was really interesting to read and reflect on what a revolutionary change it's introduction was. Many, many interesting factoids, but Freeberg could have used 'organizing threads' such as following the lives of 4 or 5 key or representative people of the era. ( )