Executioner's current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the invention of the electric chair
(Book)
Author:
Published:
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, [2002].
Format:
Book
Edition:
1st ed.
Physical Desc:
xxii, 271 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Status:
Basalt Non Fiction
364.66 MOR
Description
A "fascinating and provocative" story ( The Washington Post ) of high stakes competition between two titans that shows how the electric chair developed through an effort by one nineteenth-century electric company to discredit the other. In 1882, Thomas Edison ushered in the “age of electricity” when he illuminated Manhattan’s Pearl Street with his direct current (DC) system. Six years later, George Westinghouse lit up Buffalo with his less expensive alternating current (AC). The two men quickly became locked in a fierce rivalry, made all the more complicated by a novel new application for their product: the electric chair. When Edison set out to persuade the state of New York to use Westinghouse’s current to execute condemned criminals, Westinghouse fought back in court, attempting to stop the first electrocution and keep AC from becoming the “executioner’s current.” In this meticulously researched account of the ensuing legal battle and the horribly botched first execution, Moran raises disturbing questions not only about electrocution, but about about our society’s tendency to rely on new technologies to answer moral questions.
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Last Check-In
Basalt Non Fiction
364.66 MOR
On Shelf
Mar 26, 2022
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More Details
Language:
English
ISBN:
0375410597 :
Notes
General Note
"This is a Borzoi Book"--Verso, t.p.
General Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-262) and index.
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Moran, R. (2002). Executioner's current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the invention of the electric chair. New York, Alfred A. Knopf.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Moran, Richard. 2002. Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair. New York, Alfred A. Knopf.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Moran, Richard, Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
MLA Citation (style guide)Moran, Richard. Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
13d7b543-d373-e558-5373-ca9496520f1d
Record Information
Last Sierra Extract Time | Mar 25, 2024 07:18:08 PM |
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Last File Modification Time | Mar 25, 2024 07:18:27 PM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Mar 25, 2024 07:18:15 PM |
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