River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West

What an insightful piece of work on the birth of cinema. Im positive Jordan Peele read this book prior to production on NOPE because so many of the elements in this book overlap with that film. The film seems to call back to the climax of this book which involved moving pictures and horses. I found this book to be incredibly insightful and will definitely merit a second read down the road.

I wish all biographies were morelike this, although this book is not strictly a biography. What I mean is that the focus is on the achievements and significance of the remarkable central character, Eadweard Muybridge. It was Muybridge's photographic work that led to the development of modern cinema, which Slonit recognizes as "splitting the second" and therefore as significant as splitting the atom. In the hands of a less skill author, a central character as eccentric as Muybridge could easily have overtaken the narrative. I mean he did kill a guy in a jealous rage. But the murder, the insanity defense and the legally impossible jury verdict are all contained in a single chapter. The larger story, the technological development of the 19th century, continues. We also get a close look at Leland Stanford, the beginning of the transcontinental railroad and the early history of San Francisco, although I did feel Slonit sometimes strained to connect the camera, the railroad and California into a coherent story. This is the first book I have read by this author, but it won't be the last. I was really blown away by this.

I read Ms.Solnit's book after learning that it had inspired actor/director Gary Oldman to write a screenplay called Flying Horse, with an eye toward directing the film about photo pioneer Eaweard Muybridge. RIVER OF SHADOWS is a meandering but thoughtfully entertaining journey through the energetic, sometimes tragic life of Eaweard Muybridge whose motion-study images were midwife to modern cinema. Solnit grandly sets the stage of Muybridge's era and how the lure of the early photographic process gave the Englishman a new career and a fresh start. His whole-hearted embrace of the burgeoning technology continues to impact us and our perception of time via motion pictures and all forms of emerging visual media. The book title's reference to the "technological wild west" is so appropriate by guiding us through the historical cloud of dust kicked up by an America of the late 1800s with its growing railroads, vanishing cowboys and struggling native tribes, to reveal how science was a significant part of the rough and tumble mix.

Not the most scintillating writing I've ever read, but an eye-opening story of an artist (Muybridge) whose work helped shape our world. In fact, before reading this book, I took him entirely for granted and did not even consider him an "artist", just a photographer who took pictures of things in motion. He is a heck of a lot more than that, and his photographs are beautiful! The book also gave me (a foreigner who did not study the history of the formation of the west) a glimpse at the fascinating and almost incredible history of the formation of San Francisco, and at how truly rapidly this country developed the roots of what it is today (for better and for worse). This should be required reading in history classes.

Solnit's RIVER OF SHADOWS is an entrance not only into the 19th century, but also a precursor of the 20th century and the advent of technology. She tells the story of Eadweard Muybridge and the invention of the moving picture. The value of this exceptional book, however, is the relationship presented between technology and culture, and the sweeping cultural changes that resulted through the annihiliation of space. It was as if the world had shrunk, or better yet, the old world had died.Loved the book--Great Narrative, First-Rate Research, Excellent Writer.

The author gives insight into a variety of things beside Muybridge... the beginning of the book is about perceptions of time and how it was changed by the railroad. But this book is rich in history and understanding the West.

This book connects E. Muybridge to history from the beginnings of photography to present day cinema. In the process it provides a concise overview of American history and the American experience. I found this to be easy to read as it is well written and full of facts that I either had forgotten or never knew. For anyone interested in the history of photography this is a 'must read'.

Soltnit is a fascinating and able guide in ways that give a good name to intellectual associative writing: she knows how to do it without sounding anything but genuine in her interests, and she lets those interests guide her (and your) path through multiple topics, without ever losing her place or forgetting her subject in the 'so doing' thereof. Highly entertaining and very smart. .

AWESOME

Beautiful writing style.

massively interesting storey but you have to be able to cope with Californian psychobabble