Electric City: How Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Tried to Build Utopia and Instead Created Our World
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- Create Date：2021-05-16 17:31:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Thomas Hager
- ISBN：1419747967
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Summary
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 ten 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 readers interested in American history， technology， politics， and the future。
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 ten 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 readers interested in American history， technology， politics， and the future。
Reviews
Zeb Kantrowitz
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It's not that this isn't a good book， but it is more of a middle of the road， it's ok type of book。 The title is a little misleading in that Edison plays a small part and is never truly enthusiastic when it comes to Ford's vision。 Much of the last third of the book has little to do with Ford， and he is mentioned only in comparison as to what did happen。Just after WW1 Ford was in his most "prophetic" and what was like his "Robert Moses" period。 Ford had wanted to recreate his company into the wor It's not that this isn't a good book， but it is more of a middle of the road， it's ok type of book。 The title is a little misleading in that Edison plays a small part and is never truly enthusiastic when it comes to Ford's vision。 Much of the last third of the book has little to do with Ford， and he is mentioned only in comparison as to what did happen。Just after WW1 Ford was in his most "prophetic" and what was like his "Robert Moses" period。 Ford had wanted to recreate his company into the world's first conglomerate。 He had gone on a buying spree of steel companies， glass manufacturers and other suppliers of parts for this cars。 He even tried to build a city in Brazil （call Fordlandia） to supply rubber for tires。 He wanted to be able to control every piece that went into his cars including seats。Having built the largest car plant in the world at River Rouge， which was vertically integrated。 Ford wanted to build a seventy-five mile long industrial park。 He would use the electricity from the damming of the Tennessee River （in twenty plus places） interspersed with farming communities and small towns。 It was the damming of the river that became controversial。 Politicians in the area and those on the approving committees didn't want Ford to control that much electricity。Ford's request bounced around the Congress for over seven years until he finally gave up。 The book now takes up the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority under the Roosevelt Administration。 The electricity would be government controlled and eventually force the local privately held Power Companies to lower their prices by half。 Hager then discusses how the area around TVA ended up doing just as well as the Tennessee Valley。My problem with this book is the amount of time that Edison was included， probably less than 20% and Ford （50%） and 30% for TVA。 He would have been better to title it the "History of the TVA"。 。。。more
Nan Williams
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This was a wonderful and wonderfully enlightening account of the building of the Wilson Dam in Muscle Shoals， Alabama and how that led to the establishment of TVA and hydroelectric power in the region。 It was very readable and very interesting。 Being from Alabama I knew the basics of TVA and knew Wilson Dam was the first hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River， but did not know that it was started by Woodrow Wilson to provide power for munitions factories for WWI and abandoned 2/3 of the way th This was a wonderful and wonderfully enlightening account of the building of the Wilson Dam in Muscle Shoals， Alabama and how that led to the establishment of TVA and hydroelectric power in the region。 It was very readable and very interesting。 Being from Alabama I knew the basics of TVA and knew Wilson Dam was the first hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River， but did not know that it was started by Woodrow Wilson to provide power for munitions factories for WWI and abandoned 2/3 of the way through as the war ended before it was finished。 It then caught the attention of Henry Ford who wanted to finish it in order to build an entire industrial complex in the area which would feed his automotive needs。 Ford also planned a whole city， Ford City， which would stretch 75 miles along the Tennessee River。 Lots of politics and political maneuverings ensued over the next 2 decades and next 3 presidential administrations。As interesting as this accounting was it was very difficult to maintain a mental timeline while reading it。 The author jumped hither and thither in his telling。 He also repeated a lot – I guess he forgot he’d already covered those things。 It would have been most helpful if each chapter had been entitled with the date and place of what would be covered in it。 Perhaps it wouldn’t have seemed so disorganized then。This was an ARC from NetGalley and Abrams Press in exchange for an honest review。 3。5 stars rounded up。 。。。more
Ksenia Kulichik
，
I read this hot off the heels of Greg Grandin’s excellent “Fordlandia” （which concerns itself with another megalomaniac Ford project）， and the fact that it stands up quite well in comparison is testament to the book’s quality。“Electric City” follows Henry Ford’s pursuit of Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee river – the eventual site of TVA activity – and his ever-growing utopian visions for the area。 The book begins with the time Tennessee river valley ignited first sparks of interest and concludes I read this hot off the heels of Greg Grandin’s excellent “Fordlandia” （which concerns itself with another megalomaniac Ford project）， and the fact that it stands up quite well in comparison is testament to the book’s quality。“Electric City” follows Henry Ford’s pursuit of Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee river – the eventual site of TVA activity – and his ever-growing utopian visions for the area。 The book begins with the time Tennessee river valley ignited first sparks of interest and concludes describing its ultimate fate。 Neither Ford， nor Edison were involved in either of those， which hints at the scope of the story。 Edison wasn’t involved much at all， actually， and when he was， it was primarily for the PR value of his name。 It seems， he was similarly included in the title for the effect the outsized effect his name and Ford’s produce together， both then and now。Hager moves through the narrative sequentially， and while he maintains his focus on the Muscle Shoals area， the bulk of the story concerns itself with endless politicking and PR pushes surrounding the whole thing。 Descriptions of interested parties traveling to Washington， partaking in endless negotiations and generating headlines are interspersed with necessary diversions to explain technical details， biographies or larger forces at play。 The book moves swiftly and is an easy read。 The language is very simple， too simple for my taste in fact， but not inadequate in any way。Wrapping up the book， Hager provides brief summaries of the fate of various characters （and there was a surprising number of them drifting into and out of the project at one point or another） following their involvement with Muscle Shoals。 They are a welcome touch， rounding out the story。In another concluding section of the book Hager explains his decision not to include footnotes， preferring to confine them to academic writing。 I wish he made a different choice， but the book provides and informative list of sources nonetheless。In the end， this is a nice book for the lay public to learn more about the Muscle Shoals affair and history of TVA。 Some grounding in Ford’s biography or history of the time in general couldn’t hurt， but the book is a fine read without them。 Recommended。 。。。more
J Earl
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Electric City from Thomas Hager is an interesting and detailed account of an often overlooked endeavor， part history book and part social/economic analysis。To the extent that I knew anything about this project it was as a footnote to the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority。 Reading the details， seeing how so many factors went into both the idea of a new beneficial way of building and living as well as the failure of such a project， was enthralling。 It is also hard to avoid seeing how the s Electric City from Thomas Hager is an interesting and detailed account of an often overlooked endeavor， part history book and part social/economic analysis。To the extent that I knew anything about this project it was as a footnote to the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority。 Reading the details， seeing how so many factors went into both the idea of a new beneficial way of building and living as well as the failure of such a project， was enthralling。 It is also hard to avoid seeing how the same forces， with the same faults and virtues， are at work today in many areas。 I think this will appeal to a wide range of readers。 If you simply like history that reads at times like fiction， but very well researched， you will enjoy this book。 If you are particularly interested in lesser known events and projects， this will be quite an eye-opener。 If you read with an eye toward what the past says about our present， you will definitely find a lot to digest here。 And if you like reading about the "great men" of the past， well， Edison and Ford （for better or worse） fits that description。As an aside， if you like reading about projects that were intended to have major social and cultural impact but failed largely because of subterfuge and pettiness， I would recommend Soul City by Thomas Healy。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Kathy
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This book is well researched and some parts read like historical fiction。 Very interesting and informative。
Jeff
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