In the summer of 1878 three ruthless and brilliant scientists raced to Wyoming and Colorado to observe a total solar eclipse. One sought to discover a new planet. Another fought to prove that science was not an anathema to femininity. And a young, megalomaniacal inventor sought to test his bona fides and light the world through his revelations. David Baron brings to life these three competitors—James Craig Watson, Maria Mitchell and Thomas Edison—re-creating the jockeying of nineteenth-century astronomy. A portrayal of America’s dawn as a superpower, American Eclipse depicts a nation looking to the skies to reveal its ambition and expose its genius.

Prologue: Shall the sun be darkened -- Part one. 1876. Reign of shoddy ; Professor of quadruplicity ; Nemesis ; "Petticoat parliament" -- Part two. 1878. Politics and moonshine ; The wizard in Washington ; Sic transit ; "Good woman that she are" ; Show business -- Part three. 1878. Among the tribes of uncivilization ; Queen city ; Nature's editor ; Old probabilities -- Part four. 1878. Favored mortals ; First contact ; Totality ; American genius -- Part five. 1878-1931. Ghosts ; Shadow and light -- Epilogue: Tendrils of history.