Description
Book SynopsisFrom the highest halls of power to the remote corners of rural America, featuring amazing technological innovation and an epic battle between the captains of a corrupted industry and Americaâs most politically astute president, here is the story behind the greatest peacetime achievement in US historyâthe electrification of an entire nation.
Trade Review'The little known but captivating story of electricity is at the heart of the New Deal. John A. Riggs is the perfect person to tell the tale. The battles between America’s most politically astute president and a powerful industry created the hybrid, public-private electricity system that we know today. The compromises necessary to ensure equity and the public interest while unleashing the energy of private markets can inform the discussion of current issues such as telecommunications, infrastructure, and tax policy.' -- Walter Isaacson
'High Tension: Franklin Roosevelt’s Battle to Power America is an innovative history of the chaos and conniving that created America’s transformative electricity system (judged by The Atlantic to be the greatest invention since the printing press). Jack Riggs has given us a compelling read. Thoroughly researched and gracefully written, it crisply covers the historical panorama of the New Deal’s hard-won achievements of breaking up the giant utility holding companies and bringing light and power to the vast darkened regions of our nation. A must for historians, it is also a gripping read for all.' -- Martin J. Sherwin
