How Americans adapted European royal illuminations for patriotic celebrations, spectacular expositions, and intensely bright commercial lighting to create the world's most dazzling and glamorous cities.

In this splendidly illustrated and carefully constructed book, David Nye traces the emergence of gas and electrical illuminations in America's fifteen largest cities (with deft comparative asides to London, Paris, and Berlin). Expanding on his prize-winning Electrifying America, Nye's focus on the cultural dimensions of 'energy transitions' speaks powerfully to our present technocultural moment.

How Americans adapted European royal illuminations for patriotic celebrations, spectacular expositions, and intensely bright commercial lighting to create the world's most dazzling and glamorous cities.

In this splendidly illustrated and carefully constructed book, David Nye traces the emergence of gas and electrical illuminations in America's fifteen largest cities (with deft comparative asides to London, Paris, and Berlin). Expanding on his prize-winning Electrifying America, Nye's focus on the cultural dimensions of 'energy transitions' speaks powerfully to our present technocultural moment.