Karen’s Blog

Edison & the Electric Chair by Mark Essig


 


This was an unexpectedly fascinating book. I had no idea that Thomas Edison had anything to do with the invention of the electric chair, but as soon as one reads the title, it is obvious that he would. As a disclaimer, by the way, I am the daughter, sibling and aunt of different kinds of engineers, and while I am not an engineer, it does interest me. Dad is a retired stationary engineer - that’s what they call the folks who run power plants, so I was always taught - from earliest memories - to respect electricity, not play with it, and to conserve it.


Thomas Edison we all know as the Master Inventor, light bulb creator, proponent of electricity, and pioneer in many varied fields. An all-around amazing guy, if not necessarily the nicest person in the room, certainly the smartest.


The book traces the whole history of electricity in the New York area - I had no idea what chaos existed in the early years, with competing providers running overlapping and dangerous wires overhead in the city. One of the photographs contemporary from the period is a horrifying maze of wires criss-crossing the sky, and it is no wonder that people regularly died when working on them.


Combine this with the controversial subject of the death penalty, which was before this time usually in a public spectacle by hanging. Add in the politics of New York City, rivalries both in scientific and business pursuits, corporate espionage and accusations, the legal system and patent law disputes, the extra-large personalities of Edison, George Westinghouse and their contemporaries and rivals, and those concerned about how the best, most painless and swift method of executing a person, and you have a truly fascinating book.


I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the death penalty, American history, engineering, business or politics. Or even just anyone interested in a good, true story! It is not for the sqeamish, though, as there is obviously discussion of the particulars of killing animals and then people with electric current, and it was not always an instant success.

Tags: edison, electricity, engineers, execution, true, westinghouse

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.