Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Age of Edison places the story of Edison's invention in the context of a technological revolution that transformed America and Europe in these decades. As Freeberg shows, Edison's greatest invention was not any single technology, but rather his reinvention of the process itself. At Menlo Park he gathered the combination of capital, scientific training, and engineering skill that would evolve into the modern research and development laboratory. His revolutionary electrical gridnot only broke the stronghold of gas companies, but also ushered in an era when strong, clear light could become accessible to everyone.