The Grid: A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World [Hardcover]

Phillip F. Schewe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 030910260X | ISBN-13: 978-0309102605

The electrical grid goes everywhere -- it's the largest and most complex machine ever made. Yet the system is built in such a way that the bigger it gets, the more inevitable its collapse. Named the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century by the National Academy of Engineering, the electrical grid is the largest industrial investment in the history of humankind. It reaches into your home, snakes its way to your bedroom, and climbs right up into the lamp next to your pillow. At times, it almost seems alive, like some enormous circulatory system that pumps life to big cities and the most remote rural areas. Constructed of intricately interdependent components, the grid operates on a rapidly shrinking margin for error. Things can -- and do -- go wrong in this system, no matter how many preventive steps we take. Just look at the colossal 2003 blackout, when 50 million Americans lost power due to a simple error at a power plant in Ohio; or the one a month later, which blacked out 57 million Italians. And these two combined don't even compare to the 2001 outage in India, which affected 226 million people. The Grid is the first history of the electrical grid intended for general readers, and it comes at a time when we badly need such a guide. As we get more and more dependent on electricity to perform even the most mundane daily tasks, the grid's inevitable shortcomings will take a toll on populations around the globe. At a moment when energy issues loom large on the nation's agenda and our hunger for electricity grows, The Grid is as timely as it is compelling.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With an appreciation of the technical ingenuity, human drama and cultural impact of the electrical grid, physicist and playwright Schewe illuminates how electricity has catalyzed both the best and worst of modernity since Thomas Edison devised the first electrical network in 1882. Even as the grid delivered light and mechanization, foremost minds like Westinghouse, Tesla and Insull continued to refine it, creating a society totally dependent on its invisible wonders. In the 1965 Northeast blackout, for example, New York shut down for lack of a product that barely existed half a century before. The grid's complexity demands predictability, Schewe shows, but even a minor short circuit can trigger a systemwide avalanche. Peppering his narrative with quotations from cultural critics Lewis Mumford and Henry David Thoreau, he argues that, economically, "we can't afford to throw away two-thirds" of energy as waste, and explains how nuclear and renewable resources can reduce pollution. Schewe also explores how Africa and Asia's dearth of electricity affects the participation of impoverished people in society. Though the final chapter on how astronauts took energy with them to the moon seems unnecessary, overall Schewe crafts an entertaining narrative with enlightening scientific and historical detail.
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Review

"Phillip F. Schewe, in his eclectic survey of the past century, casts a perceptive eye on how that momentous transformation came about, and where it may heading." -- Natural History, April

"The Grid is the most complex machine ever built and it has had the greatest impact on our quality of life of any technological advancement. Yet, few people understand the Grid and recognize it as the power delivery system that brings electricity to our homes and businesses. Phillip Schewe does a masterful job of recounting the Grid's history and some of the many challenges it now faces." -- Clark Gellings, Vice President, Innovation Electric Power Research Institute

"This is the first book to describe the remarkable history of a hidden matrix that rules the industrialized world, is invisible when it is working, and is taken for granted by almost everyone who uses it. Anyone who has ever wondered what happens when you plug a toaster into an electrical outlet will find this book as illuminating as the billions of lights the grid powers every day. As energy demands continue to rise in political significance, general readers will find the perspective offered by this book particularly useful." -- Lawrence M. Krauss, author of The Physics of Star Trek, and, Hiding in the Mirror

"This wonderfully written story of the electricity industry's remarkable history is a prerequisite for understanding its challenges and opportunities today... a very fun read." -- Amory B. Lovins, CEO, Rocky Mountain Institute

"What Thoreau did for Walden Pond, Schewe has done for The Grid. At last, a subject too often chronicled by dry institutional histories has found its bard. It's fun to read and vividly told." -- Keay Davidson, author of Carl Sagan: A Life

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030910260X
• ISBN-13: 978-0309102605
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Electromagnetism > Electricity

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit too introspective and philosophical for my tastes... July 1, 2007

By Thomas Duff HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Browsing through a bookstore the other day, I ran across this title... The Grid: A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World by Phillip F. Schewe. I got a copy of it at the library, and was expecting a decent education on how our power systems work. What I ended up with was something a bit different, and it wasn't as good as I had hoped for...

Contents: The Gridness of the Grid; Grid Genesis; Most Electrified City; Imperial Grid; Worst Day in Grid History; Thirty Million Powerless; Overhauling the Grid; Energizing the Grid; Grid on the Moon; Notes; Acknowledgments; Index

With a title like this, I expected the writer to start at the beginning, in the days of Westinghouse and Edison. From there, I had hoped for a relatively comprehensive history of how our nation has become electrified, along with some details as to how it all works. And to some degree, that's in there. But it's ladled out with a heavy dose of philosophy and comparisons to people like Thoreau and his simplistic lifestyle at Walden Pond. These forays into the contemplation of our electric lifestyle seemed to distract from what could have been a rather compelling read. I was also a bit frustrated by all the time that was spent on the 1965 power outage that plunged 30 million people on the east coast into darkness. Yes, it's a telling story of how intertwined our systems have become, as well as how much we rely on electricity. But it seemed that he could have covered that in less space, leaving more room for other directions where I hoped we would be going.

I don't consider the book all bad. The writing style was somewhat unique, in that it was written in that "yes, I'm talking to you, Mr. Reader" tone. And for the material that was covered, the story was interesting. It's something we take for granted (flip a switch, and there's the power), but it's also something that can be disrupted by many different unforeseen forces. But at least in my view, the book could have done more with facts and stories, and less with philosophizing and navel-gazing...

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Either 5 stars or no stars depending on what you like July 29, 2007

By Israel Ramirez

Format:Hardcover

If you want to find out technical information about how the grid works or a thoughtful history don't bother with this book. But if you are looking for a science/history book to read at the beach, this is the one. Lots of geewiz stuff but no real detail. Nothing wrong with that. There is a place for a book that makes you feel awe and wonder and this book certainly does that but it left me feeling like I had skipped dinner's main course and went straight to desert.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent historical tour of electric power grid April 27, 2007

By Olin Sibert

Format:Hardcover

This book provides an entertaining and comprehensive view of how electric power was and is created and delivered ("the grid"), and the style is anything but dry. From the grid's beginnings at the hands of Thomas Edison in the Pearl Street generating station in the 1880s to the issues of production and energy efficiency that are the concerns of today, this book touches on it all. The strongest parts are the story of the beginning--Edison, Westinghouse, Tesla, and Insull--the story of the TVA, and the description of the 1965 blackout. I was disappointed, though, that there wasn't more coverage of recent failures, especially the 2003 blackout which is tantilizingly described as being very similar to 1965, but with little detail.

As the introduction says, this is not a comprehensive technological history--for that, one would have to look elsewhere. I wish the author had given more hints about just where to look--the text is well-footnoted, but it's not clear from the bibliography which references would be most interesting to read next. The story also focuses on the U.S. grid, but there's plenty of information about other countries as well.

It's too bad that aren't any photographs: much of this book is about things (power stations, generators, etc.) and about people, and it would be nice to see what some of them look like. A lot of books in the "microhistory" genre have the same failing. It's a pity that publishers are too cheap to include a few pages of photos.