Edison & the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death, Essig, Mark. Published by McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2004. First Edition. 358pp. with index; illustrated. Cream boards with copper titles. Both volume and jacket are in fine, unread condition.
In 1879 Thomas Edison unveiled a world-changing invention – electricity, an invisible force that produced light, powered streetcars and carried telephone conversations. A decade later Edison, formerly an avowed opponent of the death penalty, championed the creation of a completely different sort of device – the electric chair. Edison promoted the electric chair for reasons that remain controversial to this day. Was he genuinely concerned to find a humane alternative to the gallows? Was it part of his bitter battle with rival George Westinghouse for commercial dominance? Or, in fact, was he warning the public of real dangers posed by the high-voltage wires that looped above America’s streets?
