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.