I still can't believe the great Tesla wasn't mentioned even once.

Loved it.

Занятная книжка, но где же Тесла?! Ни одного упоминания об этом изобретателе.

Electricity has become an inseparable part of our life. We are so dependent on it that we can’t even imagine a world without electricity in our dreams. This book narrates the story of electricity right from the very beginning and how it transformed the world we live in today.

The author has put in a lot of effort in narrating the technical aspects in layman terms. I was slightly disappointed when the book didn’t speak much about Nikola Tesla as he is one of the pioneers in the field. Other than this I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. It’s a must read for anyone who is curious to know and understand how electricity has become the driving force of our planet.

I picked this up because of the author's other book on Einstein's equation, E=MC2. This one was not as interesting. But he does briefly cover the life of Alan Turing who is considered the father of computer science. Turing laid down the theories that paved the way for the creation of the modern computer and the idea of artificial intelligence. His contribution was made well before the invention of the transistor. He was also a leading cryptographer credited with breaking the German Enigma machine and helping to save Britain from catastrophe in WWII. Despite his monumental contributions, he was shunned for being homosexual which ultimately lead to his suicide at age 41. One of the greatest minds of the 20th century.

A very interesting read. The first half of the book reads much nicer than the second half, packed with balanced sum of science and history. The second half I personally found it more dull.
I would have given this a rating of four stars but without even mentioning Nikola Tesla and the dominance of AC three stars should suffice.

The book certainly manages to hit many of the high points in the history of electricity and electronics. Unfortunately, it fails to provide much detail about any single person or idea. The book does include an extensive "Guide to Further Reading" and numerous notes for those who like more details. Annoyingly, the notes aren't referenced in the main text so you're forced to read in parallel through the main portion of the book as well as the "Notes" chapter if you want the full story. In the end, I suppose my own expectations got the better of me: I was hoping for an in-depth history of electricity, perhaps along the lines of Richard Rhodes Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Making of the Atomic Bomb", rather than a entertaining afternoon read...

When I read Electric Universe by David Bodanis, I was surprised the whole way through at how new and good it was. I picked it up at one of my favorite bookstores in Chicago, Market Fresh Books in Little Italy, second-hand.

I’m a guy who’s read a lot of popular accounts on the developments of science, and know all the progress of quantum physics and relativity real well at this point. Those stories are more common. I’d never read a full popular account on the history and development of electricity, though, and how it changed the world in so many ways. But I’m sure glad I did.

I have to say, while I think all science-progress-history-etc stories are pretty interesting from a humanist standpoint, I didn’t expect electricity’s story to be this interesting. It was really… shocking, you might say, how huge of an effect it’s had through the years. Not something I’ve ever really consciously thought about before, for some reason. But it truly changed the world in every way.

This book wasn’t just great because of those histories, though. It was great because of the storytelling. I was amazed by how well David Bodanis could weave such an interesting and mesmerizing thread through these scientist’s adventures throughout the centuries, and to say that it kept my attention is an understatement. It was a real page-turner.

I almost wonder if the history was diluted a bit just for the sake of the stories, but there was so much fact backing up most of it that I’d doubt it. I believe that Mr. Bodanis’ great tone and voice as a writer just helped that much.

It’s hard to choose my favorite part, but I think the story I enjoyed most from Electric Universe was how the invention of radar turned the tide of battle one way and another in World War II. First for the Allies, then the Axis, then back to the Allies after secret raids I’d never heard about before. I enjoy some good WWII history, so WWII history + experimental science is just great.

I’d definitely recommend this book. Thrilling from front to back, and I even stayed up late to keep reading it. Learned a lot of great facts from it too, and even loaned it to my mother – she liked it too. Definitely check this book out if you get a chance.

David Bodanis writes a great history of how modern man has used electricity. He focuses more on the people behind the science and shows us that scientific pogress doesn't always advance smoothly,but more often does so in fits and starts with a lot of eccentricity and ego driving them. The part about Alan Turing is especially heartbreaking as it makes you think about how the computer era could have come much earlier if not for his unfortunate early death.if you enjoyed this you'd like his Secret Family and James Gleik's Faster.

It seems most of the negative reviews around this book focus on the lack of scientific details or things that were missed out. I fnd this strange because the book never claims to be an indepth explanation of the principles of electricity, but rather its history and the human stories behind each important discovery, and it does this very well. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Alan Turing, the development of radar, and found the story of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife incredibly moving. The writing style is easy to read and digest and rattles along nicely. It doesn't get bogged down in the science but has enough knowledge behind it to present what it does well and intrigued me enough to make we want to read more on various subjects in greater depth. As an introduction to the subject it's a great place to start, or if science isn't your thing then there's enough of a human element packed with romance, subterfuge and adventure to appeal to the majority of readers.

Aq

Great fun learning the backstory

Great fun learning about the personal Iives of some great engineers and scientists.

I recommend this book.

Yes, the author excluded Nicola Tesla (not sure why) but I’m ok with that as he has been covered in detail by other authors.