A Bright New Look At Life
From Amazon
After reading //Brilliant//, you'll never take life for granted again. From the great blackout of 1965 to the many "brown-outs" of recent times, //Brilliant// illuminates the dark areas from the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The author, Jane Brox, has composed an enlightened look into the evolution of artificial light. The book is written in an easy reading style with lively language and interesting anecdotes that entertain as well as inform.
One of the most inviting prologues I have ever read lures you into the book. Brox covers it all, from the first lanterns at sea, to gas light and the emergence of the incandescent electric lamp. She remarks that during wartime some parts of Europe returned to old light. London endured a self-induced blackout to evade enemy bombardment. Even New York prepared itself to avoid becoming a target. All this makes us aware of how artificial light can cast an ugly shadow, and forces us to consider its use with care.
Reviewed by D. Wayne Dworsky
The Evolution of Artificial Light
From Amazon
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The SELLING potential of this GOOD book would increase fantastically by merely adding PICTURES
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of the extremely RARE 'lighting' items referred to and partially described!
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I blame this FAILURE on the advisors and/or EDITORS! Someone GOOFED!
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Do a RE-CALL & REMAKE! And make a MILLION!
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And give the 'Great' Physicist Nikola Tesla his rightful place among all those
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'Invention Laboratory' helpers and tinkers! He "LIT UP THE WORLD"!
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And, his :"FLUORESCENT" & "NEON" LIGHTS 'BLAZE' ceaselessly in Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, and Times Square!
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Without 'Tesla's "Alternating Current" (A/C) most people would still be using 'candles' and 'oil lamps' for 'LIGHT"!
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I would like to add that coverage of F.D.R.'s Great "TVA" ,& "REA" Programs is exceptional; and the magnitude and far reaching beneficial effects are no doubt still being realized.
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But these two superb demonstrations of the breadth of the 'genius' of Franklin Delano Roosevelt have not been given the respect they truly deserve; for they brightened the lives and futures of all those hundreds of thousands who for the first time ever were provided the use of "Electric Light" and "Power" from Nikola Tesla's Alternating Current!
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Illuminating But Not Brilliant
From Amazon
Close but not brilliant. Certainly, a good portion of the book is fascinating and illuminating. When Ms. Brox allows her voice to shine through, the book is swift paced and cogently written. But, too often, Ms. Brox included long quotations, and relied too heavily on others to tell her story. On too many occasions, I felt that I was reading a college paper with sentences such as "the author notes that" followed by a lengthy quotation. Ah, but for a good editor.... These lengthy quotes were distracting. But when Ms. Brox tells the story of the social history of light in her own words, the story shines bright and clear.
I understand that including photographic plates would make the book more expensive. But, I often found myself having to consult internet sources to see the kinds of devices that are described in the book. Perhaps, some drawings or photographic plates would have allowed the reader to see clearly these early contraptions that illuminated the homes of our ancestors. (I often wondered whether Ms. Brox actually viewed some of the instruments of illumination for herself, or was she relying on secondary sources to describe the device for her.) Perhaps, too, the author could have written about the nature, physics of light. For example, though there is much discussion of the AC versus DC current, there is hardly a sentence describing the difference. I understand this was not a book about the physics of light. But, for the laymen, it would have helped to understand the rudimentary nature of that thing that illuminates our world.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable read. The subject matter (tracing the use of artificial light from prehistoric times through the present) is quite fascinating. Putting aside some of the stylistic criticism, this is an excellent book. It is both enlightening and enjoyable.