Sure almost all kids know Benjamin Franklin as one of Americarsquos Founding Fathers a man with a hand in both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution And they may even have some vague idea that he once flew a kite during a lightning storm What Kathleen Krull sets out to do in this very different biography is show Ben Franklin the ldquonatural philosopherrdquo the term for scientists back in the s whose experiments led to important discoveries about the nature of electricitymdashincluding his famous demonstration that electricity and lightning were one and the sameAs always this much-lauded series presents a true Giant of Science in a juicily anecdotal way This is social history at its best who knew that Franklin became such a megastar that Paris shops sold Ben dolls Ben ashtrays even Ben wallpaperWitty and engaging this is a worthy addition to the Giants of Science series.
