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Electric Universe (Abridged): How Electricity Switched on the Modern World Audiobook
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(3.05) - 501 listener ratings
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The bestselling author of E=mc2 weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through an account of the invisible force that permeates our universe—electricity—and introduces us to the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets. For centuries, electricity was seen as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed. Then, in the 1790s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. In harnessing its power, we have created a world of wonders—complete with roller coasters and radar, computer networks and psychopharmaceuticals. In Electric Universe, the great discoverers come to life in all their brilliance and idiosyncrasy, including the visionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices of the British class system, and Samuel Morse, a painter who, before inventing the telegraph, ran for mayor of New York City on a platform of persecuting Catholics. Here too is Alan Turing, whose dream of a marvelous thinking machine—what we know as the computer—was met with indifference, and who ended his life in despair after British authorities forced him to undergo experimental treatments to “cure” his homosexuality. From the frigid waters of the Atlantic to the streets of Hamburg during a World War II firestorm to the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery.
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"A fascinating, understandable book about the ways (often surprising) that electricity, in its many permutations, rules the world. Bodanis has the ability to be selective about what he includes, to vary the pacing, change the mood and generally entertain while enlightening. "
— Janan (4 out of 5 stars)
Electric Universe Listener Reviews
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" This is a very readable history about the development of electricity, a modern convenience that most of us take for granted. I think the book will be appreciated by any reader who wants to know and understand the history behind the development of the modern utilities that we have become so dependent on. "
— Clif, 2/15/2014 -
" This was very interesting and unexpected. It was as much a story about people as it was a story of science. I especially enjoyed the section describing the discovery of radar. "
— Shawna, 1/30/2014 -
" Was not a great history of electricity. For whatever reason, Bodanis started the book with Samuel Morse's alleged theft of the telegraph from Joseph Henry, skipping over Volta, Galvani, Franklin, and various other milestones in electrical History. In general the book was rather awkwardly arranged, written in a bland manner. Though I did enjoy the re-imagining of the invention of the phone as the way to win the heart of Alexander Graham Bell's deaf lover, the book as a whole was a rather awkward history which sometimes read as sanctimonious judgment. "
— Upom, 1/25/2014 -
" A fascinating, understandable book about the ways (often surprising) that electricity, in its many permutations, rules the world. Bodanis has the ability to be selective about what he includes, to vary the pacing, change the mood and generally entertain while enlightening. "
— Janan, 1/10/2014 -
" An amazingly clear layout of how we've stumbled across all the great finds in the history of electricity. "
— Sarah, 12/30/2013 -
" great. informative and very entertaining. "
— Ana, 12/30/2013 -
" a good primer for the history of the development for electricity and gives a basic understanding of how electricity works. "
— Jim, 12/18/2013 -
" Easy and entertaining history of electricity. The author blends science and more historical portraits in a good way and keeps the readers interested in the history of electricity. "
— Rickard, 10/8/2013 -
" Bodanis is one of my favorite authors. He brings the human side to science. Interesting anecdotes - especially from the late 1800's to early 1900's. My only criticism is . . . why wasn't this book twice as long? "
— David, 9/15/2013 -
" An interesting book. Provides a rudimentary look at the history of electricity and the people and stories behind it. "
— Eduard, 7/23/2013 -
" This book is outstanding if you are interested in electricity. Fantastic! "
— Hakija, 6/14/2013 -
" Finally helped me to understand a lot of electricity that I never picked up in school. "
— Kerry, 5/22/2013 -
" exciting take on electricity. "
— Bob, 4/6/2013 -
" I gobbled this up so fast that I could have gotten quite a large shock. Bodanis is truly gifted in describing, exploring, and explaining the wonder and the science and the history of electricity. "
— Kathy, 6/25/2012 -
" A fantastic look at the modern history of electricity, highlighting stories of the people behind the telephone, light bulb, radio, radar and more. Bodanis finishes with a look at life and how we use electricity within our own bodies. "
— Michael, 5/10/2012 -
" The personal accounts really undulated from interesting to stone cold boring. I probably would have liked a little more science at the expense of some of the personal stuff. "
— Myke, 11/23/2011 -
" I thought this was a really great overview on the history of electricity, the discoverers and innovators who helped shape today's technology. This is a very basic view on the subject, but very accessible and informative. "
— Troy, 10/31/2011 -
" This was pretty basic. I don't necessarily think that makes it entirely bad, but perhaps I was not the best audience for this one. It was short though and had a few stories that I was not aware of. "
— Cassandra, 2/21/2011 -
" I gobbled this up so fast that I could have gotten quite a large shock. Bodanis is truly gifted in describing, exploring, and explaining the wonder and the science and the history of electricity. "
— Kathy, 1/26/2011 -
" a good primer for the history of the development for electricity and gives a basic understanding of how electricity works. "
— Jim, 1/17/2011 -
" A fantastic look at the modern history of electricity, highlighting stories of the people behind the telephone, light bulb, radio, radar and more. Bodanis finishes with a look at life and how we use electricity within our own bodies. "
— Michael, 7/1/2010 -
" An amazingly clear layout of how we've stumbled across all the great finds in the history of electricity. "
— Sarah, 7/23/2009 -
" This book is outstanding if you are interested in electricity. Fantastic! "
— Hakija, 7/5/2009 -
" The story/history of electricity, or at least its discovery and utilization by our society. Very intriguing. Was not dry in the least, amazingly. Lots of detailed info without being overwhelming. "
— Kevin, 3/19/2009 -
" The personal accounts really undulated from interesting to stone cold boring. I probably would have liked a little more science at the expense of some of the personal stuff. "
— Myke, 3/9/2009 -
" Really cool history of modernity told through breakthroughs in electricity. Also highlighted the somewhat sad ends that great innovators such as Alan Turing met. Left me with tons of fun facts for dinner parties. "
— Rich, 3/2/2009
About David Bodanis
David Bodanis has taught intellectual history at Oxford and is the author of several books, including The Secret House and E = mc². A native of Chicago, he lives in London.