Electric City: The Lost History of Ford and Edison's American Utopia

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 162 ratings

Price: 17.46

Last update: 12-23-2024


About this item

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.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Lynne
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2024
    Great book so far. My hometown. Loving the read.
  • Jess K
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story, well written
    Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
    I got this as a Christmas gift for my dad after reading The Alchemy of Air, which is one of my favorite books. He said he's really enjoying it. The story is fascinating and the author is very detailed, historically accurate, but also makes the story very entertaining.
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what it describes.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2022
    The summary of this book would have you believe that it was all about how Ford and Edison had plans for this city and how they were going to execute the plan along with speculation about how it would have worked. It does touch on some of this but a vast majority of the book involves government interference and politicking. Still a great book but not what it describes it self as.
  • MH
    5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading
    Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2021
    I thought it was well written. When I saw this book was being published I went ahead and preordered. I live in North Alabama and grew up on Wheeler lake. The TVA and hydroelectric energy are ubiquitous here and have been for almost 100 years. The story of the New deal and electrification of the south are well known, but with the exception of hearing of Ford City, I didn’t realize what the actual plans were in the 1920s or about Fords bid and plan for a utopia.

    The book, though non-fiction, skips over some gritty details to read more like a novel. I appreciated that, and rather liked the author’s style.

    It’s a good book if you like the history of the South, politics, or engineering of any type.
  • Ian T. Sanford
    5.0 out of 5 stars So this is how it happened
    Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021
    I live in the north Alabama region of the TVA and have known bits and pieces of the story. Now, I feel I know it all ...... extremely well researched ....... brought all the pieces of the "puzzle" together. This book is not just for people of the Tennessee valley but would be interesting to everyone
  • Audio-Therapy Innovations, Inc. (Consignment)
    5.0 out of 5 stars Henry Ford drove a hard bargain. Politics never changes
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2022
    I found the story very interesting and wish he had continued on through the second world war.
  • Ron H.
    3.0 out of 5 stars George Morris is the main character
    Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2022
    Edison only appears briefly, a glorified cameo. Ford himself kind of drifts through the book, leaving his secretary to do the heavy lifting. The title is misleading. It should be Senator George Morris and the founding of the Tennesse Valley Authority.

    A good, fast read with a misleading title.
  • Ken Taylor
    4.0 out of 5 stars A great read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2021
    An excellent treatment of an exciting time in the history of an wonderful region of the Tennessee Valley. This book describes how some of the most powerful people in the world focused on this undeveloped section of our country.

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