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.