In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable; electric lighting, indoor plumbing, motor vehicles, air travel, and television transformed households and workplaces. But has that era of growth come to an end? Weaving together a vivid narrative, historical anecdotes, and economic analysis, Robert Gordon demonstrates that the life-altering scale of innovations between 1870 and 1970 cannot be repeated, and in this NYTimes Notable Book, he assesses the many causes that can still be addressed today.