Death Rays and the Popular Media, 1876-1939: A Study of Directed Energy Weapons in Fact, Fiction and Film

by William J. Fanning

Death ray! Just an absurd idea peddled by con artists and amateur inventors and promoted by a sensationalist press? Not quite. Government leaders, military authorities and even mainstream scientists periodically endorsed the possibility of such a fantastic weapon in the years leading up to the Second World War.

Genres: History

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2015

Reviews

[Thomas Petri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The age of electricity, think Marconi, Tesla, Edison and others, seemed a miracle. It also created confidence in miracles yet to come, among them "the death ray" which would kill millions, putting an end to war. In theory concentrated electrical beams broadcast over various distances, great and small, would kill, sink ships and crash airplanes, stop engines and many other offensive and defensive military actions. All this, in fiction, movies and even as fact in news and by con men is covered in this readable and interesting book by Wm. J. Fanning, Jr. The way this idea captured people's imagination is in itself fascinating, much in the same way that even today people buy into ideas that satisfies, sometimes perverse, needs.