The Power Makers: The Inside Story of America's Biggest Business...and Its Struggle to Control Tomorrow's Electricity

by Richard Munson

Traces the history of the power industry, discusses the problems that now confront electric utilities across the U.S., and explains what changes will have to be made

260 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1985

About the author

Bloomsbury in June 2025 will release "Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America's Biggest Industry," which explains the recent rise of racketeering and bribery by utilities seeking billion-dollar bailouts for dirty and uneconomic power plants.
W.W. Norton in November 2024 published "Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist."
Norton previously released "Tesla: Inventor of the Modern," a biography of the under-appreciate genius who brought us the electric motor, radio, robots, and remote control.
Other Richard Munson books include; "Tech to Table: 25 Innovators Reimagining Food;" "From Edison to Enron," a history of the electricity industry; "The Cardinals of Capitol Hill," a behind-the-scenes look at congressional appropriators; and "Cousteau: The Captain and His World," a biography of the undersea explorer.

In addition to writing, Munson has been a senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund, senior vice president of Recycled Energy Development, executive director of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, director of Solar Lobby and Center for Renewable Resources, co-coordinator of Sun Day, coordinator of Environmental Action Foundation, and director of the University of Michigan's Pilot Program.