Ingenious
Richard Munson
W.W. Norton & Co., $29.99
Let’s talk about the kite and the lightning storm. In the public’s mind, Benjamin Franklin’s scientific work has largely been reduced to this one experiment, in which Franklin demonstrated that discharges from thunderstorms are electric in nature (SN: 10/21/11). A new biography of Franklin, titled Ingenious, dispels some of the misunderstandings about that experiment and about Franklin’s science more broadly.
While many accounts of Franklin’s life focus on his role as a founding father of the United States, science was central to his life story, author Richard Munson argues. Far from a mere pastime or quirky hobby, scientific research brought Franklin the fame
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