Empires of Light is a captivating historical tale of the advent of electricity, focusing on three main characters: practical inventor Thomas Edison, genius visionary Nikola Tesla, and far-sighted business magnate George Westinghouse.

Today we think nothing of flipping on a light switch.

But the electrification of the world was a revolutionary development we owe largely to three men who could not have been more different from each other.

Jill Jonnes is a historian and recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In this book, Jonnes looks at the role Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse played in harnessing electric power for human use.

Set amidst the tumultuous years of the Gilded Age, Empires of Light chronicles the conflicts between engineer, visionary, and businessman that made electricity widely available and brought about the ultimate victory of AC current.