AC/DC

Beschreibung

AC/DC tells the little-known story of how Thomas Edisonwrongly bet in the fierce war between supporters of alternatingcurrent and direct current. The savagery of this electrical battlecan hardly be imagined today. The showdown between AC and DC beganas a rather straightforward conflict between technical standards, abattle of competing methods to deliver essentially the sameproduct, electricity. But the skirmish soon metastasized intosomething bigger and darker. In the AC/DC battle, the worst aspectsof human nature somehow got caught up in the wires; a silent,deadly flow of arrogance, vanity, and cruelty. Following the pathof least resistance, the war of currents soon settled around thatmost primal of human emotions: fear. AC/DC serves as anobject lesson in bad business strategy and poor decision making.Edison's inability to see his mistake was a key factor in his lossof control over the ?operating system? for his futureinventions?not to mention the company he founded, General Electric.

Autor*in

Tom McNichol

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Business & Management Geschichte Geschichte der Medizin u. Naturwissenschaften History History of Science & Medicine Strategic Management Strategisches Management Unternehmensstrategie Wirtschaft u. Management Wissenschaftsgeschichte

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A little more than 100 years ago, two titans of industry faced off in one of the most vicious battles the marketplace had ever seen. On one side, Thomas Edison, inventor extraordinaire, the creator of the phonograph and the electric light; on the other, George Westinghouse, tycoon and titan, backing the mysterious eastern European inventor Nikola Tesla. They fought over the very nature of the electrical system in America: would it be built on alternating current (as Westinghouse proposed), or direct currentà la Edison- Though a battle over electrical standards sounds dry, this tale is anything but. McNichol's solid if brief survey of this relatively unknown moment in the history of technology ranges from macabre electrocutions of hapless animals (and eventually prison inmates) as demonstrations of the "Death Current" to the gleaming "electrical wonderland" of the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Though the author focuses on when it's wise to fight a standards battle and when to give in, some might wish that he had another 200 pages in which to flesh out the story. His book tantalizingly scratches the surface of Edison's ingenuity and force of will, Westinghouse's shrewd business sense, and most of all the sheer eccentricity of Nikola Tesla.(Sept.) (Publishers Weekly, July 17, 2006)"You'll never look at your wall socket the same again." --Evan Ratliff, coauthor, Safe: The Race to ProtectOurselves in a Newly Dangerous World "From the twisted copper wires of electricity's early yearsMcNichol spins a story buzzing with genius and fraud, ambition andinfamy, hilarity and humiliation. It's a joy to read: a comicoperetta of American industrial history, full of great men, smallminds and an alarming number of dead dogs." --Craig Stoltz, health editor, Washington Post "Few writers explain technology as well as Tom McNichol. Noone's as good at finding the humor in it." --Jeffrey O'Brien, senior editor, Wired magazine "A fascinating history of the battle that decided what comesthrough the wires when we flick a switch. A great story of how farpeople will go to prove they're 'right' - and make abuck." --J. J. Yore, executive producer, public radio'sMarketplace "A tale of astonishing genius and greed, a perfect reflection ofthe competing forces that built corporate America. McNichol offersus a ringside seat at the birth of a superpower, and it's a bloody,messy, and altogether fascinating spectacle." --Brooke Gladstone, cohost, NPR's On the Media
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