Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (Softshell Books) [Paperback]

Thomas Parke Hughes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801846145 | ISBN-13: 978-0801846144 | Publication Date: March 1, 1993

Awarded the Dexter Prize by the Society for the History of Technology, this book offers a comparative history of the evolution of modern electric power systems. It described large-scale technological change and demonstrates that technology cannot be understood unless placed in a cultural context.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An exciting, major contribution to the field of history, for it establishes very convincingly that the growth of... power networks is as intrinsic to and characteristic of modern society as the growth of manorialism was to medieval society.

(American Historical Review )

How the West was wired.

(Times Literary Supplement )

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801846145
• ISBN-13: 978-0801846144
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel Back In Time To the Heyday Of Electification, September 12, 2000

By 

Alan Lyscars (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (Softshell Books) (Paperback)

If you're a history buff, and appreciate the technology that surrounds us all, you'll love reading "Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930" by Tom Hughes. Hughes takes us back to the days of fierce rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse; the early era of electric power generation and consumption where the battle of DC vs. AC consumer power was born and decided.

Hughes doesn't stop there. Also included in this well-footnoted edition are in-depth narratives of the evolution of commercial power systems in England and Germany through 1930. A well written, readable snapshot in time.

Compelling historical reading for the non-technologist as well as the student of electrical power commercialization.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great explanation of technology systems, July 27, 2003

By 

Jason N. Palmer (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (History of Technology Series) (Hardcover)

Thomas Hughes is professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, and has been the Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm). He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1985 he was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal of the Society for the History of Technology for Networks of Power. In addition to Networks of Power, he has also published Rescuing Prometheus (1998) and Elmer Sperry: Inventor and Engineer (1993). With Agatha Hughes he edited Lewis Mumford: Public Intellectual (1990). Dr. Hughes completed his graduate work in European history at the University of Virginia.

In Networks of Power: Electrification of Western Society, 1880-1930, Thomas Hughes outlines his seminal theory of "Complex Systems." Hughes argues that "the most impressive patterns imposed on the world by men impelled by the force of constructive instincts [are] systems, coherent structures comprised of interacting, interconnected components." Hughes thoroughly investigates the development of electrical supply systems; in doing so, he exposes the "ordering, integrating, coordinating, and systematizing nature of modern human societies." In exposing these social and cultural influences, Hughes nails shut the coffin that is technological determinism. Several elements are key to Hughes' theory. Hughes introduces "reverse salients," "technological style," and "momentum."

A reverse salient is a problem that defies solution, while other (possibly related) problems in the system advance; the reverse salient is more descriptive than its technological equivalent-bottleneck. The identification of reverse salients provides the key to understanding concurrent invention and how different inventors in separate countries came to very similar solutions of the identified problem. Once a problem is clearly identified and understood, it is little wonder that more than one person comes up with a solution to it nearly simultaneously, as exemplified by Swan's and Edison's invention of the light bulb.

Other key terms in Hughes methodology include technological style and momentum. Technological style is a function of transfer; adaptation to new environments culminates in a style particular to that environment. A good example of this is the numerous small power plants found in London as opposed to the few larger plants utilized in large German cities-the number and size of the generators was a reflection of the British style of local government and municipal control. Momentum is a function of the size of the systems Hughes explores, the number and influence of the contributors to the system, and the vested interest politicians, the economy, even society has in the system. However, Hughes does not believe even vast systems gain autonomy, as a determinist might: "They have a mass of technical and organizational components; they possess direction, or goals; and they display a rate of growth suggesting velocity."

Hughe's insightful exploration of the differences and similarities of electric expansion in the United States, Germany and England highlight not only the diverse development of the field, but also the different social influences brought to bear on each system. That each system developed along remarkably different lines, as evidence by the case studies of Chicago, Berlin and London, can and was attributed to the different political/legislative/geographical forces present at each location. The advancement of the technology itself becomes secondary and responsive to the conditions present in each country-well exemplified by the differences associated with building the Bayernwerk and the Walchensee hydroelectric plant versus California's experience with hydroelectric power and the formation of the Pacific Gas & Electric company.

Hughes' masterful treatise on the development of electrical power systems reaches out beyond the technology to explain the style of the various systems. In doing so, he demonstrates the technological systems were "not simply autonomous, or free of the influence of nontechnical factors." According to Hughes, "the style of each system was found to be based on entrepreneurial drive and decisions, economic principles, legislative constraints or supports, and geographical factors, both human and natural." He decisively demonstrates in his case study of London that it is not a foregone conclusion that the best technology will triumph. Repeatedly he shows the impact society had on the development of the electrical system.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On shaping technology.., April 17, 2007

By 

James Hoogerwerf (Auburn, AL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (Softshell Books) (Paperback)

Electrical power is one of the key components, along with chemicals, steel and petroleum, of the second industrial revolution. Hughes focuses on complex electrical supply networks and the impact of society, or culture, on shaping technology. The title of his book is brilliant in its dual imagery of large electrical distribution systems and the social, economic, and political interplay necessary to create them.

Hughes begins by describing an element of Thomas Edison's inventive genius not commonly recognized by historians. Edison not only invented marvelous machines, he also invented what may be his most significant contribution, the electrical power system. Edison, an inventor-entrepreneur, saw that it was not enough to only have electric lighting. Electricity must be made widely available. He built the first network capable of distributing electrical power to the public. Generating power at the Pearl Street station, Edison introduced the concept of a central-station supply system electrifying a square mile area in New York City.

Hughes' model shows how electrical systems developed in general and then, expanding on his theme, he discusses regional variations in Berlin, London, and Chicago. The model begins with 1, an invention and its development at one site, then, 2, the technology transfers and expands into a larger system, which, 3, grows despite "reverse salients." A "reverse salient" is a problem of uneven systems growth which threatens the entire system An example is the uneconomic transmission of direct current over long distances which was eventually solved by the use of alternating current. (A "reverse salient," however, does not have to be technical in nature.) Subsequently, 4, a system develops its own momentum toward a planned goal, and finally, 5, it matures with "the rise of financiers and consulting engineers to preeminence as problem solvers."(17) In the final phase the problems are largely legislative and political.

Hughes effectively makes use of a comparative approach to the history of technology. In his comparative analysis, Hughes finds that Berlin developed an electrical network in a political economy. In Chicago, pliant politicians were dominated by technology, whereas regulatory legislation and parochial political interests hindered system development in London.

Large generating projects built during WWI left a legacy of excess power. Post war support for government sponsored technology waned and planned systems emerged to pool the energy of independent utilities. Widespread grids encouraged engineers and managers to exploit regional diversity in order to balance loads around the clock. This, not surprisingly, gave rise to large holding companies. Financiers "inventiveness," Hughes says, "was comparable to that of inventors and engineers."(308)

In reading his book it is apparent that many factors influence technological systems. Hughes' work argues that historians should think more in terms of "sociotechnical systems rather than technological systems."(465)