Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-374) and index.

The crime (1890-1891). The train (September 16, 1890) ; Marking time (October 20-November 11, 1890) ; Edison's newest wonder (December 1890-May 1891) -- Europe (1866-1880). Letters of introduction (1866) ; God's own country (1866-1869) ; Silver and salt (1841-1854) ; War (1870-1871) ; Buried alive (1870-1871) ; Washed ashore at the lizard (1870-1873) ; Parenthesis: occident in motion (Sacramento, California, 1873) ; Artists (1875-1878) ; The spark (c. 1880) ; The new world (1881-1882) -- To America and back (1882-1887). Parenthesis: WKL (1879) ; Louisiana centennial (1882-1885) ; A gun that kills nothing (1880-1885) ; Shadows walking on the walls (1885-1886) ; The wizard's tower (1884-1886) ; Life on glass (1886) ; Thomas A. Edison can go to hell (1886-1887) ; Keeping clear of the sharks (1887) -- The first film (1887-1888). The starting point of all motion (May-August 1887) ; A man walks around a corner (August 1887) ; "Investigators" at Woodhouse Lane (January 1888) ; The Muybridge lecture (February 1888) ; Haggard miles of half-buried houses (March 1888) ; A sewing machine, multiplied by three (spring and summer 1888) ; A Yorkshire summer (summer 1888) ; Roundhay garden scene (October 8-14, 1888) ; Marey, Le Prince, and Dickson (October 15-November 29, 1888) -- Motion pictures (1889-1901). Transparent, flexible, and unbreakable (November and December 1888) ; Edison and Marey (spring, summer, and fall 1889) ; I shall be with you all in mind (Christmas 1889) ; A trick of the light (1890) ; The Jumel mansion (1890) ; Dijon (September 16, 1890) ; Dickson DX (1891-1895) ; Cinema (1895-1901) ; Adolphe (1897-1901) ; The fathers of the movies (1902-2020) -- Coda: the drowned man (October 1890).

"The year is 1888 and Louis Le Prince is finally testing his "taker" or "receiver" device for his family on their front lawn. The device is meant to capture ten to twelve images per second on film, creating a reproduction of reality that can be replayed as many times as desired. In an otherwise separate and detached world, occurrences from one end of the globe could now be viewable with only a few days delay on the other side of the world. No human experience--from the most mundane to the most momentous--would need to be lost to history. In 1890, Le Prince was granted patents in four countries ahead of other inventors who were rushing to accomplish the same task. But just weeks before unveiling his invention to the world, he mysteriously disappeared and was never seen or heard from again. Three and a half years later, Thomas Edison, Le Prince's rival, made the device public, claiming to have invented it himself. And the man who had dedicated his life to preserving memories was himself lost to history--until now. The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures pulls back the curtain and reveals the riveting story of both Louis Le Prince's life and work, dispelling the secrets that shroud each. This captivating, impeccably researched work presents the never before told history of the motion picture and sheds light on the unsolved mystery of Le Prince's disappearance" -- Provided by publisher.