Product Description

Statesman, diplomat, Founding Father--Benjamin Franklin was all of these things. But it is Franklin's status as a scientific genius that is the key to understanding him and his world

Famous, fascinating Benjamin Franklin--he would be neither without his accomplishments in science. Joyce Chaplin's authoritative biography considers all of Franklin's work in the sciences, showing how, during the rise and fall of the first British empire, science became central to public culture and therefore to Franklin's success. Having demonstrated in his earliest experiments and observations that he could master nature, Franklin showed the world that he was uniquely suited to solve problems in every realm. In the famous adage, Franklin "snatched lightning from the sky and the scepter from the tyrants"--in that order.

The famous kite and other experiments with electricity were only part of Franklin's accomplishments. He charted the Gulf Stream, made important observations on meteorology, and used the burgeoning science of "political arithmetic" to make unprecedented statements about America's power. Even as he stepped onto the world stage as an illustrious statesman and diplomat in the years leading up to the American Revolution, his fascination with nature was unrelenting.

Franklin was the first American whose "genius" for science qualified him as a genius in political affairs. It is only through understanding Franklin's full engagement with the sciences that we can understand this great Founding Father and the world he shaped.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #630634 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Is there room for yet another Franklin biography on already crowded shelves? Chaplin, a Harvard historian of science, keeps the subject fresh by narrowing her focus almost exclusively to Franklin's scientific career. It was the pursuit of "natural philosophy," including his early experiments on the properties of electricity, that made Franklin a celebrity in Europe, and Chaplin shows how he crafted his public image as a scientist to transform himself from a humble colonial tradesman into a sophisticated gentleman of letters. In her estimation, Franklin's forays into politics on behalf of the American colonies prevented him from pursuing further research that might have led to discoveries as revolutionary as those of Isaac Newton. She's careful, though, to point out that much of Franklin's science would be unrecognizable as such to us today; he was a proponent, for example, of the "argument from design" that underpins modern creationism. If you've read any of the other Franklin bios, Chaplin won't radically alter your perspective, but for those with only vague notions about his role as a founding father and particularly his importance as a scientist, her emphasis can be eye-opening. (Apr. 17)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In this tercentenary year of Franklin's birth, Harvard University historian Chaplin places Franklin within the transatlantic society of Enlightenment science. It was in this milieu that Franklin achieved international renown, which, Chaplin argues, Franklin's role as Founder has overwhelmed. To rectify this, she has thoroughly researched Franklin's scientific writings and communications with fellow experimenters, including a scene of 20-year-old Franklin importuning London's Royal Society with his observations about asbestos. But entry to the socially rarified club--science then was a pursuit of gentlemen of means--had to wait upon Franklin's making his fortune. Describing that achievement, Chaplin then plunges into the domains of science that attracted Franklin in his forties and fifties. Beyond the specifics of electricity, the Gulf Stream, and much else, Chaplin develops Franklin's philosophical attitudes toward nature as well as the suspensions of his scientific activity by the demands of revolution and diplomacy. An approachable portrait, Chaplin's scientific Franklin rounds out the more homespun image of popular conception. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Joyce E. Chaplin is Professor of History at Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Interesting subject, poor execution...
Let me start by saying up front that it pains me to give this book a low rating, because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Thanks for that, however, go to Mr. Franklin, not Ms. Chaplin. Franklin was a fascinating figure with an interesting life, and it would be difficult to write an uninteresting book about him. This book, however, is rather poorly written and at times gives the impression of trying to stretch a little information a bit too far. To me, it felt as though she decided to write a book on Franklin the scientist, found she didn't quite have enough science material to fill a book, and decided to stretch it with repetitive, somewhat pretentious interpretation which added little too the book besides pages. At points I felt as though she was trying a little too hard to keep the book from becoming a biography of Franklin, staying completely focused on the science aspect when a little information on his life in general was need to place the science in context. The writing was frequently a little clunky and tiresome.

Overall, worth reading, at least if you have a specific interest in the subject, but not worth buying in hardcover.

Linking science works with problem-solving at the social and political levels
THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND THE PURSUIT OF GENIUS comes from a history professor at Harvard, who shows how Franklin's evolving status as a scientific genius lends to appreciating his works and the evolution of science as a whole. There have been many biographies of Franklin over the years; but this is the first to narrow the focus on his scientific investigations and how they led to his political prominence. All of his scientific research is considered, linking science works with problem-solving at the social and political levels. New research into documents from his early career and those of his colleagues lend to a unique discussion here.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch