Electric City

The Lost History of Ford and Edison's American Utopia

By: Thomas Hager

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

The extraordinary, unknown story of two giants of American history - Henry Ford and Thomas Edison - and their attempt to create an electric-powered city of tomorrow on the Tennessee River

During the Roaring Twenties, two of the most revered and influential men in American business proposed to transform one of the country’s poorest regions into a dream technological metropolis, a shining paradise of small farms, giant factories, and sparkling laboratories. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s “Detroit of the South” would be 10 times the size of Manhattan, powered by renewable energy, and free of air pollution. And it would reshape American society, introducing mass commuting by car, use a new kind of currency called “energy dollars”, and have the added benefit (from Ford and Edison's view) of crippling the growth of socialism.

The whole audacious scheme almost came off, with Southerners rallying to support what became known as the Ford Plan. But while some saw it as a way to conjure the future and reinvent the South, others saw it as one of the biggest land swindles of all time. They were all true.

Electric City is a rich chronicle of the time and the social backdrop, and offers a fresh look at the lives of the two men who almost saw the project to fruition, the forces that came to oppose them, and what rose in its stead: a new kind of public corporation called the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the greatest achievements of the New Deal. This is a history for a wide audience, including listeners interested in American history, technology, politics, and the future.

©2021 Thomas Hager (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

Great book!

I enjoyed learning about the history of The Shoals and how TVA was born. Great historical account of Henry Ford’s attempt to buy Wilson Dam and the man that prevented it.

Good attempt

The author is someone I’ve enjoyed reading many works. The subject matter here was not his usual historical science topics, and lost my interest.

What I didn’t know

Found this book very interesting. I had no idea about Ford’s interest in Mussel Shoals, nor his possible presidential ambitions.
This book kept my attention and I thought it was worthwhile to add to my library.

Interesting

A worthwhile read/ listen to an overview of a chunk of history, over the topic of utopia, clean energy, political pressure and personal history. More general in its approach than Hagers earlier books, but still well researched and worth your time.

Pretty good

Interesting subject, well researched, and well constructed and performed. Don't know that I was made a bigger fan of Ford, though.