Let It Shine, John Perlin
Let It Shine, John Perlin
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Let It Shine
The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy

Author: John Perlin, Mark Z. Jacobson

Narrator: Walter Dixon

Unabridged: 11 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/19/2022

Categories: Fiction, Romance, Fantasy


Synopsis

Even as concern over climate change and energy security fuel a boom in solar technology, many still think of solar as a twentieth-century wonder. Few realize that the first photovoltaic array appeared on a New York City rooftop in 1884, or that brilliant engineers in France were using solar power in the 1860s to run steam engines, or that in 1901 an ostrich farmer in Southern California used a single solar engine to irrigate three hundred acres of citrus trees. Fewer still know that Leonardo da Vinci planned to make his fortune by building half-mile-long mirrors to heat water, or that the Bronze Age Chinese used hand-sized solar-concentrating mirrors to light fires the way we use matches and lighters today.

With thirteen new chapters, Let It Shine is a fully revised and expanded edition of A Golden Thread, Perlin's classic history of solar technology, detailing the past forty years of technological developments driving today's solar renaissance. This unique and compelling compendium of humankind's solar ideas tells the fascinating story of how our predecessors throughout time, again and again, have applied the sun to better their lives—and how we can too.

About John Perlin

An international expert on solar energy and forestry, John Perlin has lectured extensively on these topics in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Perlin is the author of A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization as well as From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity. Perlin mentors those involved in realizing photovoltaic, solar hot-water, and energy-efficiency technologies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and coordinates the California Space Grant Consortium as a member of UCSB's department of physics.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mike on February 25, 2016

Before I get to my review, check out these gorgeous WPA Style energy posters: Just gorgeous! So when you hear the term solar power you probably think this: Or maybe this: Or possibly even this: But the story of humanity's harnessing of the sun's power probably starts with this: Doesn't look very impr......more

Goodreads review by Stephan on October 01, 2017

Solar power has existed for way longer solar cells... Good background information and ancient history, and some interesting case studies on failed solar powered projects of the last century. Not so much on modern day projects. Pretty much ends after the 80s.......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on May 10, 2022

I read the paper back edition of Let it shine. One of the things I liked about the book was all the pictures. I learned a lot about solar energy I never new before. For instance when I thought about solar energy I always thought photovoltaic cells. I never thought about solar water heaters. I am sur......more

Goodreads review by Salvatore on April 17, 2024

This book is not just a technological treatise; it also presents the most comprehensive history of solar technology available today. A must-read for enthusiasts of energy and architecture alike. Perlin discusses the evolution of solar energy, emphasizing the benefits of integrating solar technologie......more