Customer Reviews

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

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Let me start by saying up front that it pains me to give this book a low rating, because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Thanks for that, however, go to Mr. Franklin, not Ms. Chaplin. Franklin was a fascinating figure with an interesting life, and it would be difficult to write an uninteresting book about him. This book, however, is rather poorly written and at times gives the impression of trying to stretch a little information a bit too far. To me, it felt as though she decided to write a book on Franklin the scientist, found she didn't quite have enough science material to fill a book, and decided to stretch it with repetitive, somewhat pretentious interpretation which added little too the book besides pages. At points I felt as though she was trying a little too hard to keep the book from becoming a biography of Franklin, staying completely focused on the science aspect when a little information on his life in general was need to place the science in context. The writing was frequently a little clunky and tiresome.

Overall, worth reading, at least if you have a specific interest in the subject, but not worth buying in hardcover.

I really enjoyed this book and appreciated the scientific angle that Joyce Chaplin used to construct his life story for us. Don't worry, she in no way revised history, just told it from the aspect of his scientific genius. What you really take away from the book is how it was Franklin's scientific achievements that gave him the credibility and reputation to be an effective Founding Father and diplomat. His reputation opened up many doors in Europe, especially, that would have remained closed to this American with no noble blood.
The closing pages about Franklin's hypothetical walk through the years of scientific achievement since his death were strained and not nearly as interesting as the actual history. Although it drags in a few spots I happily recommend it. I was reading David McCullough's book on John Adams at the same time and the two complemented each other nicely.

Highly recommended by anyone interested in another side of Franklin.

THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND THE PURSUIT OF GENIUS comes from a history professor at Harvard, who shows how Franklin's evolving status as a scientific genius lends to appreciating his works and the evolution of science as a whole. There have been many biographies of Franklin over the years; but this is the first to narrow the focus on his scientific investigations and how they led to his political prominence. All of his scientific research is considered, linking science works with problem-solving at the social and political levels. New research into documents from his early career and those of his colleagues lend to a unique discussion here.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch