Overview

Augustin Fresnel (1788?1827) shocked the scientific elite with his view of the physics of light. The lens he invented was a feat of engineering that made lighthouses blaze many times brighter, further and more efficiently than they had before. As secretary of France's Lighthouse Commission, he planned and oversaw the lighting of the nation's coast. Although Fresnel died young, his brother L?onor presided over the spread of the new technology around the globe. The new lights were of strategic importance in navigation and the Fresnel legacy played an important role in geopolitical events. Levitt's scientific and historical account, rich in anecdote and personality, is a compelling read.

Full Product Details

9780393350890

Table of Contents

Reviews

Combin[es] matters of biography, science, engineering, technology, art, history, economics and politics seemingly effortlessly and definitely seamlessly. An excellent book and a joy to read. --Henry Petroski

Levitt's detailed history is worth ploughing through to see how important scientists and engineers have been in saving sailors' lives. -- Nature An excellent book and a joy to read. -- The Wall Street Journal ...this books is expertly researched as well as skillfully written...a thoroughly enjoyable read... -- World Lighthouse Society A splendid read. -- The Tablet

"""Levitt's detailed history is worth ploughing through to see how important scientists and engineers have been in saving sailors' lives."" -- Nature ""An excellent book and a joy to read."" -- The Wall Street Journal ""...this books is expertly researched as well as skillfully written...a thoroughly enjoyable read..."" -- World Lighthouse Society ""A splendid read."" -- The Tablet"

It is rare that we see a lighthouse-related book, historical in nature, with the level of research that was put into A Short Bright Flash. Theresa Levitt's superior work has illustrated the genius and ongoing legacy of Augustin Fresnel, whose brilliance not only saved lives but had an everlasting impact on the development of world trade, and whose advanced ideas are still implemented in today's modern culture. -- Jeffrey S. Gales, executive director, U.S. Lighthouse Society With his frantic pace of invention and early death, he's just like those romantic heroines of 1830s Paris burning themselves up through their passions, said the historian Theresa Levitt, whose new book is A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse. -- Eva Kahn Fresnel indeed lit up his country and the world. -- Joanne Baker [F]ascinating book...Levitt's writing captures the mix of scientific rigor and cultural shifts in a way that mirrors the sea voyages of the day-a journey fraught with uncertainty, but in the end, guided to success by Fresnel's lighthouse lenses. -- Matthew Tiffany Theresa Levitt interweaves the personal triumph of the French physicist Augustin Fresnel with his pathbreaking work on the nature of light in her fascinating recounting of how the coasts of the world were made safe for the world's seafaring vessels through a mix of genius, ingenuity, and perseverance. The story has a fascinating American coda. -- Joyce Appleby, professor of history emerita, UCLA, and author of The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism

Author Information

Theresa Levitt held the McDonnell-Barksdale Chair of History of Science at the University of Mississippi and is associate professor of history there. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she has a master’s degree in history from Iowa State University and a PhD from Harvard University. She was the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant and a Fulbright IIE Graduate Research Fellowship, among other honors. She is the author of numerous articles and papers on a variety of scientific subjects.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available