Richard F. Hirsh is a professor of history at Virginia Tech. He is the author of Glimpsing an Invisible Universe: The Emergence of X-ray Astronomy; Technology and Transformation in the American Electric Utility Industry; and Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the American Electric Utility System.

...carefully researched and cogently argued book...While Powering American Farms is aimed primarily at historians of technology, it contains a wealth of detail that broadens its appeal beyond the field.—Isis

• PrefaceIntroductionPart I. Historical Context of Rural Electrification1. The Standard Narrative and Its Defects2. Unattractive Economics in the Rural Electricity Market3. Business Attitudes toward Farmers in the 1920s 4. The Lure and Lore of Rural Electrification5. Farmers on Their OwnPart II. Alignment of Rural Stakeholders6. Utility Interest in Rural Electrification Awakens7. The Unexpected Public Relations Value of Rural Electrification8. The Industry Organizes the CREA9. State Committees Work to Resolve Uncertainties10. Regulation and the Extension of Lines to Rural Areas11. Momentum in the Rural Electrification SubsystemPart III. Growth of Rural Electrification Efforts in the 1930s12. Government Innovations in the Rural Electrification Subsystem13. Competition and Private Utilities in the REA EraConclusionNotesIndexColor plates follow page ___

Richard F. Hirsh is a professor of history at Virginia Tech. He is the author of Glimpsing an Invisible Universe: The Emergence of X-ray Astronomy; Technology and Transformation in the American Electric Utility Industry; and Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the American Electric Utility System.

...carefully researched and cogently argued book...While Powering American Farms is aimed primarily at historians of technology, it contains a wealth of detail that broadens its appeal beyond the field.—Isis

• PrefaceIntroductionPart I. Historical Context of Rural Electrification1. The Standard Narrative and Its Defects2. Unattractive Economics in the Rural Electricity Market3. Business Attitudes toward Farmers in the 1920s 4. The Lure and Lore of Rural Electrification5. Farmers on Their OwnPart II. Alignment of Rural Stakeholders6. Utility Interest in Rural Electrification Awakens7. The Unexpected Public Relations Value of Rural Electrification8. The Industry Organizes the CREA9. State Committees Work to Resolve Uncertainties10. Regulation and the Extension of Lines to Rural Areas11. Momentum in the Rural Electrification SubsystemPart III. Growth of Rural Electrification Efforts in the 1930s12. Government Innovations in the Rural Electrification Subsystem13. Competition and Private Utilities in the REA EraConclusionNotesIndexColor plates follow page ___

Richard F. Hirsh is a professor of history at Virginia Tech. He is the author of Glimpsing an Invisible Universe: The Emergence of X-ray Astronomy; Technology and Transformation in the American Electric Utility Industry; and Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the American Electric Utility System.

...carefully researched and cogently argued book...While Powering American Farms is aimed primarily at historians of technology, it contains a wealth of detail that broadens its appeal beyond the field.—Isis

• PrefaceIntroductionPart I. Historical Context of Rural Electrification1. The Standard Narrative and Its Defects2. Unattractive Economics in the Rural Electricity Market3. Business Attitudes toward Farmers in the 1920s 4. The Lure and Lore of Rural Electrification5. Farmers on Their OwnPart II. Alignment of Rural Stakeholders6. Utility Interest in Rural Electrification Awakens7. The Unexpected Public Relations Value of Rural Electrification8. The Industry Organizes the CREA9. State Committees Work to Resolve Uncertainties10. Regulation and the Extension of Lines to Rural Areas11. Momentum in the Rural Electrification SubsystemPart III. Growth of Rural Electrification Efforts in the 1930s12. Government Innovations in the Rural Electrification Subsystem13. Competition and Private Utilities in the REA EraConclusionNotesIndexColor plates follow page ___