The book was a bit of disappointment as the science was actually limited and most explanations doing nothing to clear things. That plunging your hand into a warm bucket improves your fine motor skills by improving sodium condition in nerves is just frank ridiculous. Lot of tid bits on the scientists involved. Overall definitely average.

I listened to this as an audio book.

Seriously, I hated this book, I only listened to it because it kept me from falling asleep while commuting. Actually, the anger I sometimes felt while listening worked pretty effectively for that. This book is intended for someone who has absolutely no understanding of science at all and has never even thought about what electricity might be. In that case, why would they start now? Perhaps I was especially disappointed because I had just listened to Eistein, His Life and Times, which was quite good. That book explained Einstein's admittedly difficult concepts in a way that was comprehensible to non-scientists (I think) without insulting their intelligence. This book simplified electricity and its behavior to such a level that is is not enlightening AT ALL and will make you sound like an idiot if you repeat any of it.

Just for good measure, the reader had an annoying, raspy voice.

Uma excelente narrativa de como a eletricidade moldou o mundo, resultado de uma exaustiva pesquisa. O livro ainda traz inúmeras sugestões de leituras complementares. Meu único reparo é o fato do autor não incluir Nicola Tesla.

I'm crazy about this book. Listened to it on the way to California, and then listened to it again with Peter! First of all, it explains electricity in simple terms so I understood it. Second of all, he introduces you to each advance--telegraph, telephone, light bulb, etc., all the way to computers--by acquainting you with the person responsible for the discovery. Finally, when I thought the book was through and I was completely satisfied, he launches into how electricity makes our bodies work! So enLIGHTening, and the Creator's hand is evident throughout.

I had no idea of how electricity had covered so many aspects of our life. The presentation was orderly, easy to understand, and exciting. I would recommend this book to any young person who is interested in pursuing a career in science. I am 80-years-old and now wish I went into science when I was young. Keep up that great writing, David.

Serviceable survey of how mankind's insight into electricity and its uses has advanced through the years, although much more time is spent on the personalities behind the discoveries and inventions than on explaining the physics and chemistry behind those events. Extensive recommendations for additional reading of source materials included, if you want to do the work yourself and go beyond the text. More like 3 1/2 stars than 4. Recommended, but only assuming the reader knows what they're going to get (and not get) going in.

This book, winner of the Samuel Johnson Non-Fiction prize, is a fantastic introduction to the history of electricity and the effect it has on our modern day lives.

Bodanis covers everything from electromagnetism to the Telegraph (and subsequently wireless communication), to electric lighting, computers and even how electrical impulses enables the circulation of blood within the body.

What makes this book so enjoyable, is Bodanis' real gift for explaining science in simple and easy to understand language, often with the use of the perfectly apt metaphor. A joy to read.

I don't think I read every chapter of this book as I was using it for research. That said, it was an amazing resource and I loved it and wanted to read more.

Poorly structured story with no plot, writers or scientific. The characters are sidetracked by the amount of insignificant details and on the other side with no details at all. Insignificant details are also a part of unverified facts of the urban myths described in the book. The story is jumping from one person to another, one period to other, with no chronology, shattered all over the place, and from one relationship to other intertwined with unimportant trivial details.

But I wasn´t expecting a writers genius or some cataclysmic change being a popular science writing. Big minus for not mentioning N.Tesla. What is his next project writing a book about evolution and not mentioning Darwin?

They were some interesting facts about electricity and science so I give it a **.

Quite enjoyed the way that the author showed how we stumbled across all of the principles that we take for granted today. It took many years for things like telegraph, electricity, radio, radar to be discovered and mass produced. There was lots of dead end research and lucky breaks along the way to piece together how electrons and magnets rule our modern world. It certainly wasn't clear to me from my university physics classes that the early researchers had so little idea of what they were dealing with. Just what were those electrons, how can you measure them, how can you harness them for good (and evil too) ?? Just why do we call them volts, amps and watts ? A bit of interesting `dark' background to Samuel Morse and Alan Turing too.

This is no mere physics book. It links together the luminaries of the field in a way that makes for a book almost like a novel.

I'm really getting into these sorts of factoid type entertaining reads. So many trivium to fill my wee head !

A pretty good read. The book covered the history of electricity as well as a thorough history of the major players in electricity. Still, I was really hoping to learn about Tesla.

Bodanis does an okay job of writing a storybook about the development of electrical technology, but I really felt like the book over-promised and under-delivered. I may have been part of the problem though, because I had really high expectations. I enjoyed the book, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to...maybe a middle school student writing a report? Three stars because I enjoyed it, but it definitely fell short of my expectations.