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.