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One of Bill Gates's Favorite Books of 2016

A revelatory look at our national power grid--how it developed, its current flaws, and how it must be completely reimagined for our fast-approaching energy future.

America's electrical grid, an engineering triumph of the twentieth century, is turning out to be a poor fit for the present. It's not just that the grid has grown old and is now in dire need of basic repair. Today, as we invest great hope in new energy sources--solar, wind, and other alternatives--the grid is what stands most firmly in the way of a brighter energy future. If we hope to realize this future, we need to reimagine the grid according to twenty-first-century values. It's a project which forces visionaries to work with bureaucrats, legislators with storm-flattened communities, moneymen with hippies, and the left with the right. And though it might not yet be obvious, this revolution is already well under way.

Cultural anthropologist Gretchen Bakke unveils the many facets of America's energy infrastructure, its most dynamic moments and its most stable ones, and its essential role in personal and national life. The grid, she argues, is an essentially American artifact, one which developed with us: a product of bold expansion, the occasional foolhardy vision, some genius technologies, and constant improvisation. Most of all, her focus is on how Americans are changing the grid right now, sometimes with gumption and big dreams and sometimes with legislation or the brandishing of guns.

The Grid tells--entertainingly, perceptively--the story of what has been called "the largest machine in the world": its fascinating history, its problematic present, and its potential role in a brighter, cleaner future.

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  • We started tracking this book on July 31, 2016.
  • This book was $9.99 when we started tracking it.
  • The price of this book has changed 139 times in the past 2,798 days.
  • The current price of this book is $8.35 last checked 12 hours ago.
  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past six months is $3.99.
  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $2.99.
  • The lowest price to date was $1.99 last reached on April 18, 2021.
  • This book has been $1.99 3 times since we started tracking it.
  • The highest price to date was $12.65 last reached on April 12, 2017.
  • This book has been $12.65 one time since we started tracking it.

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  • Text-to-Speech: Disabled
  • Lending: Disabled
  • Print Length: 364 Pages
  • File Size: 5,351 KB

We last verified the price of this book about 12 hours ago. At that time, the price was $8.35. This price is subject to change. The price displayed on the Amazon.com website at the time of purchase is the price you will pay for this book. Please confirm the price before making any purchases.