The Ingenious Dr. Franklin: Selected Scientific Letters of Benjamin Franklin

by Nathan G. Goodman (Editor)

Overview

An outstanding collection of Benjamin Franklin's scientific correspondence, The Ingenious Dr. Franklin has long been unavailable yet deserves a place beside his Autobiography as essential reading for everyone interested in history, wit, and invention. Portioned into three sections, "Practical Schemes and Suggestions," "Diverse Experiments and Observations," and "Scientific Deductions and Conjectures," these letters discuss an extraordinary range of topics, including the art of procuring pleasant dreams, choosing eye glasses, the first human flight, the character of clouds, the behavior of oil and water, smallpox and cancer, the cause of colds, charting the Gulf Stream, and prehistoric animals of the Ohio.

Culled from ponderous volumes of collected works or private collections, these engaging and unabridged letters were assembled to allow readers to discover for themselves Benjamin Franklin's vigorous personality, his humanity, and his penetrating intelligence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812205619
Publisher:	University of Pennsylvania Press
Publication date:	06/03/2011
Series:	Pennsylvania Paperbacks
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Nathan G. Goodman is the author of Benjamin Rush, Physician and Citizen, 1746-1813, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

What People are Saying About This

Dava Sobel

Dr. Franklin's own excited, uproariously witty reports to his family, his friends, and his scientific colleagues in Europe and America create and incomparable portrait of science in the eighteenth century.
—Dava Sobel, author of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter

Editorial Reviews

The reprint of a 1931 collection of Benjamin Franklin's letters to various publications and individuals on various subjects of scientific inquiry. The 57 letters are organized into sections devoted to practical schemes and suggestions, experiments and observations, and scientific deductions and conjectures. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"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

From the Publisher

"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."

managing editor of Time 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."

author of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter Dava Sobel