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A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse Reprint Edition

by Theresa Levitt (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 113 ratings
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“Combin[es] matters of biography, science, engineering, technology, art, history, economics and politics seemingly effortlessly and definitely seamlessly. An excellent book and a joy to read.”―Henry Petroski, Wall Street Journal

Augustin Fresnel (1788–1827) shocked the scientific elite with his unique understanding of the physics of light. The lens he invented was a brilliant feat of engineering that made lighthouses blaze many times brighter, farther, and more efficiently. Battling the establishment, his own poor health, and the limited technology of the time, Fresnel was able to achieve his goal of illuminating the entire French coast. At first, the British sought to outdo the new Fresnel-equipped lighthouses as a matter of national pride. Americans, too, resisted abandoning their primitive lamps, but the superiority of the Fresnel lens could not be denied for long. Soon, from Dunkirk to Saigon, shores were brightened with it.  The Fresnel legacy played an important role in geopolitical events, including the American Civil War. No sooner were Fresnel lenses finally installed along U.S. shores than they were drafted: the Union blockaded the Confederate coast; the Confederacy set about thwarting it by dismantling and hiding or destroying the powerful new lights.

Levitt’s scientific and historical account, rich in anecdote and personality, brings to life the fascinating untold story of Augustin Fresnel and his powerful invention.

60 illustrations, 6 maps
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  1. ISBN-10
    0393350894
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393350890
  3. Edition
    Reprint
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    January 12, 2015
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
  8. Print length
    288 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is rare that we see a lighthouse-related book, historical in nature, with the level of research that was put into A Short Bright Flash. Theresa Levitt’s superior work has illustrated the genius and ongoing legacy of Augustin Fresnel, whose brilliance not only saved lives but had an everlasting impact on the development of world trade, and whose advanced ideas are still implemented in today’s modern culture."
― Jeffrey S. Gales, executive director, U.S. Lighthouse Society

"With his frantic pace of invention and early death, “he’s just like those romantic heroines of 1830s Paris burning themselves up through their passions,” said the historian Theresa Levitt, whose new book is A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse."
― Eva Kahn, New York Times

"Fresnel indeed lit up his country and the world."
― Joanne Baker, Nature

"[F]ascinating book…Levitt’s writing captures the mix of scientific rigor and cultural shifts in a way that mirrors the sea voyages of the day―a journey fraught with uncertainty, but in the end, guided to success by Fresnel’s lighthouse lenses."
― Matthew Tiffany, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Theresa Levitt interweaves the personal triumph of the French physicist Augustin Fresnel with his pathbreaking work on the nature of light in her fascinating recounting of how the coasts of the world were made safe for the world’s seafaring vessels through a mix of genius, ingenuity, and perseverance. The story has a fascinating American coda."
― Joyce Appleby, professor of history emerita, UCLA, and author of The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism

About the Author

Theresa Levitt held the McDonnell-Barksdale Chair of History of Science at the University of Mississippi and is associate professor of history there. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she has a master’s degree in history from Iowa State University and a PhD from Harvard University. She was the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant and a Fulbright IIE Graduate Research Fellowship, among other honors. She is the author of numerous articles and papers on a variety of scientific subjects.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (January 12, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393350894
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393350890
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 113 ratings

About the author

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Theresa Levitt

Theresa Levitt

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Theresa Levitt is an Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi, specializing in the history of science. She has a Ph.D. in the History of Science from Harvard and a B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
113 global ratings
The Sort of Book We Need More Of !
5 Stars
The Sort of Book We Need More Of !
As an optical engineer, I thoroughly enjoyed A Short Bright Flash. Ms. Levitt tackles a complex subject with aplomb, weaving her way through the optics and politics of Fresnel Lenses, all the while focussing on the people behind the story. Her enthusiasm shines throughout. Many illustrations complement the writing.
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Top reviews from the United States

mary k
5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ! for all lighthouse and science nerds!
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2023
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WONDERFUL! Informative, descriptive, and educational. Tells the real story behind the Fresnel lens in an amazingly readable format. All Fresnel accomplished in just 39 years!
Great job! Fresnel and Patti Callahan Henry! I will use this information to do a fact sheet for our docents at Horton Point
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Kent Price
4.0 out of 5 stars Well told story of the development of light houses
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2013
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I bought the Kindle version but wished I had the hard copy to better see the interesting illustrations. The story moves right along, keeping the reader's interest and not getting bogged down in the science. The book is organized into seven sections plus a preface and introduction. The preface describes the author's childhood interest in the Fresnel lens. The introduction describes one of the deadly shipwrecks of the early 1800's that were the impetus for building lighthouses. As the title of the book indicates, "a short bright flash" that can be seen far away is needed. Since the Earth's surface is curved, the light must be high enough off the ground to be seen at a distance. Using geometry, an object 100 feet above sea level is visible 12 miles away at sea level. However, the intensity of the light must be strong enough to be seen. This is done by using a concentrating lens and rotating the light so all points on the horizon are covered. The problem is that a conventional glass lens of several feet diameter becomes very thick and thus too heavy to be hoisted 100-ft into the air. The Fresnel lens is broken into small segments and is much flatter and lighter weight.

The book describes Fresnel's life and the Fresnel lens in seven parts:
(1) "Dreams of glory" describes his early life and the winning of an award for the analysis of diffraction.
(2) "The flash of brilliance" describes his development of an improved lighthouse lens
(3) "The dream of total refraction" gives examples of sizes (up to 6-ft diameter lens) and locations of lighthouses.
(4) "Race to perfection" describes the challenges to the glass industry to make precision 6-foot lens
(5) "The American exception" tells of the deployment of lighthouses in America
(6) "Everything recklessly broken" refers to the American Civil War's impact on lighthouses
(7) "The golden age" describes the building of lighthouses around the world.
There are also extensive Notes and an Index.

This is altogether a very enjoyable and well written book.
4 people found this helpful
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Peter H Hames
5.0 out of 5 stars A Short Bright Flash – Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2013
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If you have ever visited a lighthouse then you have probably marveled at the huge lens that focuses the light into a single beam visible for miles at sea. I did not realize that the Fresnel lens was named for a Frenchman who revolutionized the scientific thinking of 1800’s with his physics of light (waves versus particles). Augustin Fresnel was awarded a Grand Prize by The Academy of Science in1819 for his wave theory of light. He was next assigned to the French Lighthouse Commission to work on improving their lighthouses. Lighthouses had progressed from using fires as a source of light to employing lamps with metal reflectors to beam the light out to sea. The intensity of light was not sufficient in many cases to provide safety for mariners.

Theresa Levitt, Chair of History of Science at University of Mississippi, weaves a captivating tale of Fresnel’s development of lighthouse lenses composed of many individual prisms and how these lenses were installed first on the French Coast and ultimately around the world. The book includes enough illustrations to aid in understanding the technical descriptions and lighthouse locations. Lens construction was highly dependent on the glassmaker’s ability to produce high quality prisms. Early designs were limited by this factor. Improvements in design and size of lights continued into the early 1900’s.

The conversion of lights in the United States from primitive reflectors to Fresnel Lenses is covered along with how the lights were dismantled and hidden by the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The book is full of interesting anecdotes and historical parallels. It was easy to read and hard to put down.
14 people found this helpful
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D. Thomerwald
5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, riveting history of technology
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2019
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I read this book twice, in two consecutive years when I was working as a volunteer lighthouse keeper. Having lived in a couple of light stations, I had a special appreciation for the history. But this book went way beyond just lighthouses and showed how the brilliant Augustin Fresnel grappled with the contemporary theories of light and changed, not just lighthouses but science itself. The book celebrates French technology education and puts all the events in the context of the French revolution and the dual rise and fall of Napoleon. But then it has extensive chapters about the US Lighthouse service and the corruption that hindered lighthouses and endangered sailors and the shipping economy. I especially enjoyed reading about the saga of the role lighthouses played in the civil war.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

DT Flynn
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice little book on the history of lighthouses and the Fresnel lens.
Reviewed in Germany on July 31, 2023
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A good read if your into history and especially the history of how one idea (the fresnel lens) impacted history worldwide.
An easy read, very accessible.
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Allan Spilsbury
5.0 out of 5 stars A good all around read
Reviewed in Canada on October 1, 2017
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For anyone that is interested in the working history of the light house. This book covers the subject matter without getting stuck in the technical aspects of the story. A good all around read.
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Christopher Mathews
5.0 out of 5 stars True adventure
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2018
Verified Purchase
The story of Fresnel's lens systems, their installation in lighthouses around the world & their part in developing our global civilisation is brilliantly (!) told. The US episodes are particularly fascinating, & given their due weight here.
I need my history to be thorough, & Theresa Levitt reveals how light & Enlightenment have been linked, through the lighthouse age & into the present. Very interesting & enjoyable for anyone!
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David Howie
4.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting book on the early days of lighthouses ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2015
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A very interesting book on the early days of lighthouses. A worth while read for anyone who is interested in early lighthouse technology.
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J. B. Mobbs
3.0 out of 5 stars Why Is This Not A Book About Lenses?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book is immediately disappointing in that it includes only 2 photographs of Lighthouse Lenses, when surely a book about the Inventor of the Fresnel system should be replete with examples of the variety and diversity of lenses that his genius enabled to be constructed. Though the text (presently unread) is illustrated with scale drawings, engraved pictures and the like, many of which are small and appear to be somewhat peripheral to the subject, the lack of photos of actual lenses is a great let down.
One person found this helpful
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