National Network for Equitable Library Service

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—and the prize was a nationwide monopoly in electric current. Brimming with action, suspense, and rich historical information, this rousing account reveals the true story behind one of the world's defining scientific competitions.