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John A. (Jack) Riggs studied history at Swarthmore College but took a lengthy detour into public policy before writing High Tension. Now a Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute, he was at the center of energy policymaking in Washington, DC, for more than thirty years.
'The little known but captivating story of electricity is at the heart of the New Deal. John A. Riggs is the perfect person to tell the tale. The battles between America's most politically astute president and a powerful industry created the hybrid, public-private electricity system that we know today. The compromises necessary to ensure equity and the public interest while unleashing the energy of private markets can inform the discussion of current issues such as telecommunications, infrastructure, and tax policy.' -- Walter Isaacson 'High Tension: Franklin Roosevelt's Battle to Power America is an innovative history of the chaos and conniving that created America's transformative electricity system (judged by The Atlantic to be the greatest invention since the printing press). Jack Riggs has given us a compelling read. Thoroughly researched and gracefully written, it crisply covers the historical panorama of the New Deal's hard-won achievements of breaking up the giant utility holding companies and bringing light and power to the vast darkened regions of our nation. A must for historians, it is also a gripping read for all.' -- Martin J. Sherwin 'The little known but captivating story of electricity is at the heart of the New Deal. John A. Riggs is the perfect person to tell the tale' -- Walter Isaacson 'One of the most important and under-appreciated stories of the first half of the 20th century' -- Jonathan Alter
