The Last Days of Night: A Novel

The Last Days of Night, a novel by Graham Moore is a wonderful story about the contest between Thomas Edison on one side and George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla on the other side to develop the electrical grid which would power the US. The story takes place mostly in the 1800’s and mostly in New York and Pennsylvania, the respective states of the competitors. Regarding the national electrical grid, Edison was betting on direct current (DC), and Westinghouse backed Tesla’s concept for alternating current (AC). The contrasting personalities and styles of the inventors was developed beautifully. Contributing to the story telling was Paul Cravath, who as an untested attorney and recent graduate of law school, became Westinghouse’s lawyer who was challenged by Edison’s monstrous and aggressive organization. Adding to the story was the presence of Agnes Huntington, a beautiful singer who had become a celebrity in NYC.

The pace of the story, the character development, and the unfolding of the plot were all excellent. The author has not previously been reviewed in the blog. I love historical fiction, and it’s possible that this book could be my favorite read in 2018.