The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius.

THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius

JOYCE E. CHAPLIN

From childhood, most people in the United States remember the iconic image of founding father Benjamin Franklin flying a kite during a thunderstorm. However, many of the facts implied by this picture are misleading. For one, Franklin discovered the electricity in lightning before he did the kite experiment. Also, his scientific achievements went far beyond kite flying and even the understanding of electricity. He was the first scientist to reach international celebrity status, acclaim that paved the way to his successful political career. Chaplin's biography is unusual in that it focuses on the man's scientific career and his attempts to understand and control nature. Franklin began his intellectual life as a printer, publishing his famous Poor Richard's Almanac. His interests soon extended to the physical systems of equilibrium, including those of the human body, which were first described by other scientists of the 18th century. Franklin drew a connection between the body's systems and the systems of society, specifically the need for checks and balances. This is just one way in which Franklin's scientific interest influenced his political views. Chaplin describes in detail Franklin's other achievements, including charting the Gulf Stream and describing the aurora borealis, and argues that if not for his foray into U.S. politics, Franklin might have a body of scientific discoveries the likes of that accomplished by Isaac Newton. Basic, 2006, 421 p., b&w images, hardcover, $27.50.