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River of Shadows

Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West

Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West

By Rebecca Solnit

By Rebecca Solnit

Category: Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs | 19th Century U.S. History

Category: Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs | 19th Century U.S. History

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River of Shadows by Rebecca Solnit

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Paperback $18.00

Mar 02, 2004 | 320 Pages

Ebook $11.99

Mar 02, 2004 | 320 Pages

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    About River of Shadows

    The world as we know it today began in California in the late 1800s, and Eadweard Muybridge had a lot to do with it. This striking assertion is at the heart of Rebecca Solnit’s new book, which weaves together biography, history, and fascinating insights into art and technology to create a boldly original portrait of America on the threshold of modernity. The story of Muybridge—who in 1872 succeeded in capturing high-speed motion photographically—becomes a lens for a larger story about the acceleration and industrialization of everyday life. Solnit shows how the peculiar freedoms and opportunities of post–Civil War California led directly to the two industries—Hollywood and Silicon Valley—that have most powerfully defined contemporary society.

    About River of Shadows

    The world as we know it today began in California in the late 1800s, and Eadweard Muybridge had a lot to do with it. This striking assertion is at the heart of Rebecca Solnit’s new book, which weaves together biography, history, and fascinating insights into art and technology to create a boldly original portrait of America on the threshold of modernity. The story of Muybridge—who in 1872 succeeded in capturing high-speed motion photographically—becomes a lens for a larger story about the acceleration and industrialization of everyday life. Solnit shows how the peculiar freedoms and opportunities of post–Civil War California led directly to the two industries—Hollywood and Silicon Valley—that have most powerfully defined contemporary society.

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    Awards

    Commonwealth Club of California Book Award WINNER

    Mark Lynton History Prize WINNER

    National Book Critics Circle Awards WINNER

    Spur Awards WINNER

    Praise

    “One finds it hard to remember what things looked like before this book appeared in the world.” —The New York Times Book Review

    “The imagery of a poet, the ideas of a theoretician, the rhythm of a thoroughbred and the force of a Southern Pacific locomotive.” —San Francisco Chronicle

    Table Of Contents

    River of ShadowsThe Annihilation of Time and Space
    The Man with the Cloudy Skies
    Lessons of the Golden Spike
    Standing on the Brink
    Lost River
    A Day in the Life, Two Deaths, More Photographs
    Skinning the City
    Stopping Time
    The Artist in Motion and at Rest
    From the Center of the World to the Final Frontier

    Chronology
    Notes
    Acknowledgments
    Photograph Credits
    Index

    About Rebecca Solnit

    Rebecca Solnit is the author of fourteen books, including A Paradise Built in Hell, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, River of Shadows, Wanderlust: A History of Walking. and As Eve Said to the Serpent: On Landscape, Gender, and Art,… More about Rebecca Solnit

    About Rebecca Solnit

    Rebecca Solnit is the author of fourteen books, including A Paradise Built in Hell, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, River of Shadows, Wanderlust: A History of Walking. and As Eve Said to the Serpent: On Landscape, Gender, and Art,… More about Rebecca Solnit

    Product Details

    Paperback
    Published by Penguin Books
    Mar 02, 2004 | 320 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-7/16 | ISBN 9780142004104

    Ebook
    Published by Penguin Books
    Mar 02, 2004 | 320 Pages | ISBN 9781101662663

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