River of Shadows

In 1872, Eadward Muybridge – a British photographer, who had landed in California during the Gold Rush – captured images of high-speed movement. These photographs would go on to lay the foundations for motion pictures, changing the west coast of America, and the world, forever. River of Shadows is both a bold and original biography of a true pioneer – his trailblazing work, and his complicated life – and a portrait of America on the threshold of modernity. Drawing lines from Muybridge’s invention to Hollywood and Silicon Valley, Rebecca Solnit explores how this remarkable breakthrough has shaped the world today.

Author Biography

Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than twenty books, including Orwell’s Roses, Recollections of My Non-Existence, The Faraway Nearby, Wanderlust, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, River of Shadows and A Paradise Built in Hell. She is also the author of many essays on feminism, activism, social change, hope, and the climate crisis. She lives in San Francisco and writes regularly for the Guardian. She lives in San Francisco.