The late 19th century was a period of explosive technological creativity, but more than any other invention, Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb marked the arrival of modernity, transforming its inventor into a mythic figure and avatar of an era. In narrative that reaches from Coney Island and Broadway to the tiniest towns of rural America, award-winning author and historian Ernest Freeberg presents a sweeping history of electric light, its celebrated inventor, and the birth of the modern age.