Routes of Power: Energy and Modern America

Christopher F. Jones

Published by Harvard University Press 2014

Routes of Power

Energy and Modern America

Christopher F. Jones

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674419612

Overview
Contents

About this book

The fossil fuel revolution is usually a tale of advances in energy production. Christopher Jones tells a tale of advances in energy access--canals, pipelines, wires delivering cheap, abundant power to cities at a distance from production sites. Between 1820 and 1930 these new transportation networks set the U.S. on a path to fossil fuel dependence.

Author / Editor information

Jones Christopher F. :

Christopher F. Jones is Assistant Professor of History in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University.

Reviews

Working at the intersection of technological and environmental history, Jones shows that understanding political economy and social context are integral to understanding energy transitions. His elegantly written and cogently argued narrative of how Americans spent down the planetary savings account of solar energy amassed in fossil fuels is as compelling as a mystery novel.
-- Ann Norton Greene Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Jones rethinks our understanding of the history of energy by examining from a new angle America’s transformation from a society that is dependent on human and animal power to one that relies on fossil fuels and electrical power generation. By focusing on the history of energy infrastructure, Routes of Power demonstrates how this transformation occurred and, in doing so, provides a picture of America’s energy history that is new, concrete, innovative, and persuasive.
-- Martin V. Melosi, author of Atomic Age America

In Routes of Power, Jones investigates the economics, the social consequences, and the environmental costs of the transformation from muscle power to coal, oil, and electricity. His work demonstrates effectively that technological change is not automatic but requires human effort and ingenuity.
-- David E. Nye, author of America’s Assembly Line

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
1. Coal’s Liquid Pathways Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
2. The Anthracite Energy Transition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	59
3. Pennsylvania’s Petroleum Boom Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
4. Pipelines and Power Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
5. Taming the Susquehanna River Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
6 The Electrification of America Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
CONCLUSION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 320
Illustrations
- Other: 13 halftones, 11 maps

eBook

Published: April 7, 2014
ISBN: 9780674419612