Dangerous Engine: Benjamin Franklin, from Scientist to Diplomat

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.