In his bestselling E=mc2, David Bodanis led us with astonishing ease through the most famously enigmatic equation in the history of science. Now, in Electric Universe, he illuminates the wondrous yet invisible force that permeates our world. For centuries, electricity was viewed as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed.

Then, in the 1970s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention, transforming our world. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. A superb storyteller, David Bodanis weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration and fraud through lucid accounts of scientific breakthrough.