By Philip Dray
"We put out of your mind, residing during this period of seriously patented learn and heavily guarded effects, how splendidly intriguing the clinical global was. In Stealing God's Thunder, the tale of Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightening rod and the ensuing outcomes, that feel of ask yourself and pleasure or even worry comes fantastically to existence. Philip Dray does a awesome activity of illuminating the ever-fascinating Franklin and, greater than that, the way in which that he, and his invention, helped create the recent medical world."
--Deborah Blum, writer of affection at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the technological know-how of Affection
Stealing God's Thunder is a concise, richly distinct biography of Benjamin Franklin seen in the course of the lens of his medical inquiry and its ramifications for American democracy. this present day we predict of Benjamin Franklin as a founding father of American independence who additionally dabbled in technological know-how. yet in Franklin's day it used to be differently. lengthy sooner than he used to be an eminent statesman, he was once well-known for his innovative medical paintings, in particular his experiments with lightning and electricity.
Pulitzer Prize finalist Philip Dray makes use of the evolution of Franklin's clinical interest and empirical considering as a metaphor for America's fight to set up its primary values. Set opposed to the backdrop of the Enlightenment and America's pursuit of political equality for all, Stealing God's Thunder recounts how Franklin unlocked one of many maximum common mysteries of his day, the doubtless unknowable powers of electrical energy and lightning. wealthy in historical aspect and in line with a number of fundamental resources, Stealing God's Thunder is an engaging unique examine one in all our so much liked and intricate founding fathers.
From the Hardcover variation.
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Additional info for Stealing God's Thunder: Benjamin Franklin's Lightning Rod and the Invention of America
Sample text
26 27 Whatever his shortcomings as a father, Al bought Jimi his first electric guitar when he was sixteen, a right-handed instrument that he restrung. Jimi took his guitar everywhere, carrying it in a bag because he didn’t own a case. Neither did he have an amplifier. He went to Pernell Alexander’s house to plug in and play. Jimi’s obsession with music brought him into conflict with his father who wanted him to help with his gardening work. Jimi wasn’t much interested in gardening, and feared his father would confiscate his guitar as a punishment.
It was certainly provincial, conservative and stratified when he grew up there, but 36 27 everybody knew each other; there were plentiful jobs when Kurt was a boy; and it was a safe place for children, with space to play, trees to climb and rivers to explore. Sitting on the bank of the Wishkah river under the Young Street Bridge, at the end of his road, Kurt might have imagined himself in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It was an ideal place to make a camp. Later, when Kurt found that he wasn’t welcome at home, he camped for real under the bridge, inspiring the song ‘Something in the Way’.
Brian was one. * The term ‘bipolar disorder’ has come to replace ‘manicdepression’, though the older term is helpfully self-descriptive. Generally, the sufferer experiences mood swings, from mania, where they become over-excited, to depression. Creative people are often bipolar, and the disorder is found in many members of the 27 Club. ‘The parents thought he was just a bad child,’ says Linda. ‘He was * For clarity Linda Lawrence is referred to throughout by her maiden name. ’ Brian also suffered from asthma.