“Entertaining. . .[Schivelbusch] provides ground for much speculation—about the deregulation of utilities, the role of lighting in crime control, the growing attraction of self-sufficient rural life and the social function of the theater. That is no mean feat for 227 pages.”—Brenda Maddox, New York Times Book Review

“A marvelous nugget of history and economics.”—Newsday

“A readable, highly personal, often original, and deliberately provocative attempt to integrate the story of artifical light with the history of modern life.”—Neil Harris, Science