Customer Reviews

Lengthening the Day: A History of Lighting Technology

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Lenghtening the Day is a survey of the history of lighting technology from ancient lamps and candles to the discharge lamps and flourescent lighting of modern times. However, the bulk of the book focuses on developments within the last couple of centuries. Bowers offers the reader three kinds of analysis: a historical overview of when, how and by whom different types of lighting were developed, a technical understanding of how different lighting technologies work and a glimpse at how they were received by the public and what it was like to live with them. One of the most interesting things about the book may be its analysis of the transitionary period, roughly 1830's to the end of the nineteenth century, between candle lighting, modern gas lighting and the advent of electric lighting.

Overall, the book is informative and entertaining. It is also well illustrated with exploded diagrams, reproductions of etchings, and a few pages of color images. Keep in mind that it's a survey; so while it will give you a great overview of modern lighting development it won't go into as much detail as some books, such as "Dark Light" by Linda Simon, which more specifically chronicles the anxieties that accompanied the use of modern lighting.