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About this book
Dr. Franklin's own excited, uproariously witty reports to his family, his friends, and his scientific colleagues in Europe and America create an incomparable portrait of science in the eighteenth century.
Customer Reviews
Biography
Nathan G. Goodman is the author of Benjamin Rush, Physician and Citizen, 1746-1813, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Edited By: Nathan G Goodman
256 pages
This book crackles with his wonderful mental energy.-Walter Isaacson "Dr. Franklin's own excited, uproariously witty reports to his family, his friends, and his scientific colleagues in Europe and America create an incomparable portrait of science in the eighteenth century. Reading these letters fosters a new affection for our country's foremost and most beloved inventor."-Dava Sobel, author of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter "This marvelous collection helps rescue Ben Franklin from our impression of him as a genial tinkerer flying kites in the rain. In fact, he was a serious scientist whose letters reveal the scope of his ideas, ranging from daylight savings time to bifocals to magnetism. This book crackles with his wonderful mental energy."-Walter Isaacson, managing editor of Time