Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World

Electric Universe explores how electricity was "discovered" and how it became a requirement for our society. The telephone came about due to Bell's crush on a deaf girl. Faraday made key discoveries but was not respected due to his lack of education. Volt is used as a measurement in part because the French decided and they were on good terms with Volta. The transatlantic telegraph table flopped at first because the backer listened to the scientist that told him what he wanted to hear rather than the truth.
The book tells the story of Hertz in his own words. It also has a number of stories from world war two. Britain had radar first, but Germany had an improved system. However, due to German culture at the time, they lacked skilled operators that could make quick alterations. Britain used this to their advantage by dropping "chaff". Programmable computers also gradually came about during the war, only to really kick off afterwards.
The story of many of the "big players" in electricity are tied together nicely in the relatively short book.