The Electric City: Energy and the Growth of the Chicago Area 1880-1930

About this book

No symbol of progress in our century is more galvanizing than electricityelectric power and the technology it has spawned. The "invisible world" of electric energy that was emerging at the turn of the century is one we take for granted but its influence on the growth and quality of city life was and remains profound. Using Chicago as a test case Harold L. Platt investigates the emergence of an urban-based energy-intensive society over the course of half a century in this first book-length history of energy use in the city.