Author Description

Before the world understood that lightning was electricity, Ben Franklin set out during an electrical storm with a kite and a length of wire. At the time of this experiment, Franklin was unaware that his theories about electricity had made him a celebrity all over Europe, esp. in France. Admired by the French court and beloved by French citizens, Franklin effectively became America¿s first foreign diplomat. A father of the Revolution and a signer of the Constitution, Franklin was a lightning rod in political circles -- ¿a dangerous Engine,¿ according to a critic. And though he devoted the last 25 years of his life to affairs of state, his first love was always science. ¿This is the story of adventure, of one man¿s curiosity and the extraordinary rewards of his discoveries.¿ Illus.