Reviews (1)

Franklin of Philadelphia
Franklin of Philadelphia by Esmond Wright is an enlightening book. The author gives the reader a good look into the life of Franklin.

The book is most delightful in and of itself of one of the best loved of the Founding Fathers. We delve into the mind of Franklin and we see him as a printer, author, businessman, philospher, and of course a crafty politician. He was a reluctant revolutionary, but Franklin was more, as we read in the book.

A man many thought as brilliant for his time, Franklin was devious and a man of charm. We see the multi-faceted Franklin in his true light. A man who loved attention and knew how to obtain it.

Franklin lived for 84 years through one of the most turbulent times in American History. He genious transcended to inventions to worldly wisdom... all caught poignantly in the book. I enjoyed reading this book because Franklin has been always one of most original of the Founding Fathers. As Thomas Jeferson said upon following Franklin in France... He could not replace Dr. Franklin, he was only his successor.

This book is well documented and comprehensive with good prose and flowing narative.

This book was enjoyable... I recommend it ... Read more

Book Description

"The Fords: An American Epic" is the dramatic story of three generations of Fords and of the dramatic conflict between fathers and sons played out against the backdrop of America's greatest industrial empire.

The story begins with Henry I, the mechanical wizard, tinkerer, and mad genius who drove the automobile into the heart of American life and conquered the world with it. But in the end he became an embittered crank who so possessively loved the company he built that when his son, Edsel, tried to change it to suit the times, Henry destroyed him. It was left to Edsel's son, Henry II, to avenge him and save the Ford Motor Company.

From the details of Henry I's illicit affair, which produced an illegitimate son, to the life and loves of"Hank the Deuce" and his celebrated feud with Lee Iacocca, this is an engrossing account of a vital chapter in American history. The authors have added a new preface to this now classic work, showing how Henry II's line lost out to the line of his brother William Clay Ford in the quest to control the company in the twentieth century. ... Read more

Book Description

One of America's foremost minds -- and wits -- writing in the 18th century was Benjamin Franklin. He helped write the US Constitution, he was an inventor, statesman, and scientist. He was as valuable to society as one man could be. Here he tells his own story. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

fullfiling but not intriguing
It DOES make the whole issue of understanding the autobiography quite irrelevant.However, if you have to take a quotes tests on the book, i don't recommend. Other then that, I now know the autobiography of benjamin Franklin, It helped alot! Use it - not necessarily with the full book. ... Read more

Book Description

Most of us know--at least we've heard--that Benjamin Franklin conducted some kind of electrical experiment with a kite. What few of us realize--and what this book makes powerfully clear--is that Franklin played a major role in laying the foundations of modern electrical science and technology. This fast-paced book, rich with historical details and anecdotes, brings to life Franklin, the large international network of scientists and inventors in which he played a key role, and their amazing inventions. We learn what these early electrical devices--from lights and motors to musical and medical instruments--looked like, how they worked, and what their utilitarian and symbolic meanings were for those who invented and used them. Against the fascinating panorama of life in the eighteenth century, Michael Brian Schiffer tells the story of the very beginnings of our modern electrical world.

The earliest electrical technologies were conceived in the laboratory apparatus of physicists; because of their surprising and diverse effects, however, these technologies rapidly made their way into many other communities and activities. Schiffer conducts us from community to community, showing how these technologies worked as they were put to use in public lectures, revolutionary experiments in chemistry and biology, and medical therapy. This story brings to light the arcane and long-forgotten inventions that made way for many modern technologies--including lightning rods (Franklin's invention), cardiac stimulation, xerography, and the internal combustion engine--and richly conveys the complex relationships among science, technology, and culture. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Henry Ford: Young Man with Ideas
I liked the book, but I wish they had more dates than just when he was born. It would have been fun to know how old he was when he did or invented certain things. I think I am like him because I like to find ways to make work easier.

This book is ok but, I would like more detail though.
I would like more detail like on how he was born and when he died. I like this book because it talked about all his jobs and what he made and when he made it. ... Read more

Book Description

This book consists of 18 charming, incidental essays--some serious, some light--that recount hitherto unknown anecdotes of Franklin's life and Ms. Lopez's experiences of unearthing them.Though a few of the pieces have been previously published or presented as speeches, most are new.Ms. Lopez has included brief personal introductions to each of the essays, relating her reasons for writing them and in the process threading the various pieces together.This well-written book should be altogether appealing to the general reader interested in Franklin and American history. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The personal side of an extraordinary man
The group of men who wrote the constitution of the United States comprised the greatest collection of political geniuses the world has ever seen. With incredible insight into the weaknesses of human political structures, the checks and balances in the constitution provide a system of counterweights that make up a very stable government. While not generally considered among the leading tier of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin was present at the creation and made significant contributions.
In many ways he is also a model for the American ideal of the self-made man. He rose from poverty to become a writer, editor, publisher, inventor, scientist and diplomat. He charmed many of the leading figures of France so much that it entered the war of independence on the side of the colonies. Granted that there were many reasons for France to come to the aid of America in its war with Britain. However, it is quite possible that it would not have happened without the expert diplomacy of Franklin.
This book is the result of a search through his private correspondence. Therefore, it is a description of his personality as he communicates with friends, business and diplomatic colleagues; relatives and acquaintances. It appears that Franklin was quite a ladies man as well. There are hints that he had numerous affairs, although given the style of his letters, it is possible that his high degree of politeness could be mistaken for something deeper. The results depict a man very much of the world, one where life was slower and personal relationships were more significant.
It is unfortunate that political rivalries and geopolitical realities combined to lower his standing after the military victory that led to independence. Disputes arose with George Washington and John Adams that were no doubt political in origin. Franklin had both the domestic and international prestige to be considered presidential material, with only his advanced age as a hindrance.
The real problems were the geopolitical and geosocial realities. America was an offshoot of British culture, so once the severance was complete the natural affinity reasserted itself. Britain was also the supreme maritime power and America was a small nation consisting mostly of seacoast and the Canadian colony was on the northern border. Therefore, friendship with Britain was essential to the survival of the new nation. Franklin represented an alliance that was no longer critical, so as the political wind shifted, he found himself pushed aside. Until I read this book, I was unaware of the animosities that existed between Franklin and some of the other founders of the new nation.
Benjamin Franklin is the American model of the Renaissance man and his contributions to the success of the revolution are not to be underestimated. In reading the summaries of his personal correspondence, I found it clear that he is a person that you would have liked very much to converse with and would have considered yourself graced to have been his friend. ... Read more

Book Description

Anne Frank's diary gives readers an intimate portrait of her life in hiding. But what else do we know about Anne? What did others think of her? Here, surviving friends and neighbors describe Anne as a child, and the people who protected her during the war describe the Secret Annex. Sections from Anne's diary that were recently made public give readers a closer look at the girl who wrote, "I want to go on living even after my death!"

"With balance and poignancy, Anne Frank: A Hidden Life succeeds in conveying both the individuality of the most famous Holocaust victim and the enormity of the tragedy that consumed her."
-The Horn Book

"This astonishing biography succeeds in delivering fresh and provocative insights. Incisive and vigorously imaginative..."
-Publisher's Weekly, starred review ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Missing Link
"A Hidden Life" A book is worth a thousand words, this is worth 10,000.
Mirjam Pressler has created a chapter book that includes the others who affiliate with Anne's story, and personalities through the whole book. This book is not just about how Anne suffered it's about everyone and what they had to do to survive. It gives deeper insight on whom Otto Frank was, Margot and other people I didn't even know, who also shared the same agony.

This book is the final chapter to all books; it gives every event from beginning to end; past to present. You can easily tell this book took time to write, most books you read on Anne are usually just bits and pieces taken out Anne's diary, there is no mention of anyone else, any mention of who Anne was before the Secret Annex or as a person for that matter. This book was different.

I know that the author's purpose for writing this book is the same reason I decide to read this book. She wanted to give everyone a chance to know the whole story, and not from one point of view. The story doesn't just surround the horrible event taken place it let us to know Anne before the Secret Annex, during the changing of the Jewish laws, and after, when all was done. To me it's the "missing link" to all Anne Frank biographies. Anne Frank herself could only write a better book.

Biography & Analysis
If you are looking for a book that is straight biography, then this is not the book for you. There is biographical material, of course, but there are better biographies of Anne out there. This is already a very slight book and Pressler has more on her mind than biography. She is also interested in analyzing Anne's life and, in particular, her relationships with the people she knew.

Pressler is an "expert on the life of Anne Frank" so many of her observations clearly come from a solid basis in research. Much of it seems to be coming from the Critical Edition of Anne's Diary and from Miep Gies' book, Anne Frank Remembered. (These are two excellent books I would read before reading this.) Still, for someone who has already formed an idea about Anne some of Pressler's opinions can be disconcerting, particularly when it comes to her analysis of Anne's sexuality.

This does not mean Pressler's opinions are not worthwhile. For someone truly interested in imagining a full picture of a real person, there is a lot of food for thought in this book whether you end up agreeing with Pressler or not. However, this book goes beyond the simple hero-worship in which Anne's memory usually finds itself.

In my fairly wide reading on the subject of Anne's life, this book is unique in its attempt to understand Anne as a real person beyond the character she creates for herself in the Diary. Since this is an impossible task, all attempts are somehow tinged with futility, especially for someone who never knew Anne in life (unlike Gies and van Maarsen, for example). This casts a pall over this book which Pressler, unlike some highly talented biographers, does not quite have the ability to overcome. However, this book could be very important in opening up the field for a future analysis that may be better.

Melissa's was better...
Just have to tell you that - I read this first, found it okay. It IS a great and easy read - full of interest, don't get me wrong - but it's just not 'the best.' - for that check out Melissa's biography. It just REALLY puts you there and is amazing with detail!

The hidden psyche of Anne Frank
In this book the author seems to have magical insight into Anne's hidden thoughts and desires. She also interprets one of Anne's passages to mean that Anne was describing her first orgasm during a petting session with Peter. I read all editions available as well as the newly released "missing pages" and I did not draw this same conclusion. She also believes that Peter did not love Anne. How would she know? I did find interesting little known information about the other members in hiding and do trust facts provided by eyewitnesses (Miep Gies for example)But overall I would recommend Melissa Muller's biography over this book. The biography provides a great deal more detailed facts about Anne's life and does offer a new theory as to who betrayed the Franks. Pressler's book is more like a psychoanalysis of Anne Frank's mind than a detailed account of her life.

I could hardly put it down.
This is a fine, well -written account of the famous diary and the writing thereof, including information that I have never seen before. She describes exactly what Anne used for her diary (the famous red and white checked book did not begin to hold it all), and describes life in hiding as it must have been for all of the people in the Secret Annexe, not just Anne. The author speculates on Anne's writing and some of the choices she made--to have a romance with Peter, for instance. I recommend this highly to anyone who loves Anne Frank, but it is definitely for older young adults and adults as opposed to children. ... Read more

Book Description

Since 1950,this children’s biography has captured the charm and genius of the most beloved founding father of his time.Illustrated with full-color lithographs, each page contains a proverb of Ben’s from his Poor Richard’s Almanac, along with a fascinating and detailed text of his life.Manycharacter lessons can be read and learned from this remarkable book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A book to treasure!
I am surprised to see that I'm doing the first review on this book! I checked this book out from the library to read to my children, and it is one of the most memorable biographies we have read together. This beautiful book is the story of Benjamin Franklin's interesting and inspiring life, with many full page illustrations. It includes many of his sayings throughout the book. I can't wait to own it! ... Read more

Book Description

"A printed eulogy of one of the most interesting and creative physicists of our time....The reader gets fascinating first-person accounts from eminent physicists qua ardent admirers of one who will forever be remembered in the pages of physics." Choice

Prominent physicists such as John Wheeler, Freeman Dyson, Hans Bethe, Julian Schwinger, Murray Gell-Mann, David Pines, and others offer intimate reminiscences of their colleague and perceptive explanations of Feynman's trailblazing work. These essays uncover the precocious undergraduate, the young scholar at Cornell, the theoretician in his prime at Caltech, and the mature teacher and mentor. Highlighting both the charm and brilliance of Feynman, "Most of the Good Stuff" is an engrossing collection for enthusiasts--scientists and nonscientists alike--awed and entertained by one of the century's greatest minds. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Most Personally Satisfying of All the Feynman Books
Divided into seven sections (The Early Years, At Los Alamos, The Cornell Years, The Research Physicist at Caltech, The Teacher at Caltech, The Public Physicist and Consultant, and Feynman--The Man), this fine book presents Richard Feynman as he was seen by those closest to him--his friends and colleagues. To their credit, they present him as they knew him, the qualities with the flaws.

The book is especially successful in communicating Feynman's way of thinking, the processes he used in attacking problems. The essay entitled "Richard Feynman and the Connection Machine" by W. Daniel Hills is notably successful in this regard, and by itself justifies the purchase of the book. I found it especially interesting that Feynman was fascinated, as I am, by the potential of cellular automata for modeling fluids. Readers with the same interest should also consider purchasing Seek! by Rudy Rucker.

Five or so essays by other physicists who knew Feynman contain mathematics that is proably beyond the ability of the average reader (certainly mine), but even these contain gems of insight that reward readers who wade through them.

All in all, a most satisfying experience.

Anyone who has followed Feynman should read this
Fascinating and insiteful lectures from many of the great people in the world of physics. Amusing anecdotes, touching tributes, and glimpses into the private life of a genius who was also extremely human and persevered through very painful personal problems to help create the atomic bomb while his wife was seriously ill, yet keeping his spirits up and his sense of humor. Never a person to rest on his laurels Feynman is shown in this book as a person who listened intently to other people's theories, no matter how odd they sounded and never assumed anything was right or wrong until he worked it out for himself from first principles. It's all here, his life, his work, his friends, family and colleagues - but most of all his spirit. ... Read more

Book Description

Eva's Story is a gripping account of survival at Auschwitz by the stepsister of Anne Frank.Arrested with her family on her 15th birthday, Eva Geiringer Schloss and her mother survived the horrors of Auschwitz while her brother and father perished at Mauthausen.Eight years after the war her mother married Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the Frank family.Forty years later Eva was finally able to tell her story.It is a courageous account of a mother and daughter, their will to survive, their captors and their rescuers.It is a story of courage one will never forget. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Eva's Story Is Still A Hit
I also teach an extensive unit on the Holocaust and Anne Frank. I am always on the look out for survivor stories for teens. This book certainly makes the cut. It is easy-to-read yet does relate the horrors of her experience in the camps. Her relationship to her mother and others in the camps shows the definite role companionship played in survival.

Eva's relationship to Anne Frank is simply a plus for the book. To have lived so close to Anne and even played in her house with her cat makes Anne become even more alive. Eva's relationship with her brother parallels Anne's relationship to Margot. Interestingly, Heinz and Margot seems to have similar personalities as do Anne and Eva. ...Her courage to speak about this terrrible time in history is a reminder to us all to remember what happened and those who are no longer with us and have no one to remember them.

Step Sister of Anne Frank
Eva's Story is another powerful tale coming to us from the Holocaust. Eva Schloss was the step sister of Anne Frank (her mother married Anne Franks father after the war). Her story parallels the story of Anne Frank in many ways: both were young girls in Amsterdam, both went into hidding, both were betrayed, and both were transported east to Auschwitz. The only difference is that Eva Schloss somehow survived. If one wonders what would have happened to Anne Frank if only she had lived, the answer is in Eva's Story. The book is powerful, well written, and easy to read. It includes 16 pages of photographs as well as comments marking the major events of the war. The last pages of the book carry her story up to 1984. The book is another powerful contribution to history and survival.

Lighting a Single Candle: Eva's Story
They say it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness and Eva's Story does just that. Out of the ashes of Auschwitz comes this remarkable testament to the healing power of love triumphing over hatred. Eva's family, like Anne Frank's, were German-speaking Jews who sought refuge in Amsterdam and went into hiding until they were betrayed and sent to Auschwitz in May, 1944. Eva and her mother, Fritzi, survived against incredible odds; her highly intelligent father, Erich, and talented brother, Heinz, did not, though their visual diaries -- the paintings they created while in hiding--did. Some of these are reproduced in the book and help the reader see the Holocaust from a different perspective than Anne Frank's writings. Eva and Fritzi's accessible and compelling narrative of their ordeal is rich with examples of how a mother's love for her daughter saved both their lives. For example, upon their arrival at the selection platform at Auschwitz, Fritzi told Eva to put on a heavy coat and hat which made her seem older than fifteen, saving her from the gas chamber. Eva's father had taught her never to succumb to fear, a principle that allowed her to find a way to save her mother when Fritzi, starving and sick, was selected for death. Today, Eva continues to fight against racial discrimination and persecution by touring Europe and America with the play, "And Then They Came For Me," based on her experiences and those of Ed Silverberg, Anne's first boyfriend. Highly recommended for teachers and students of literature of the Holocaust!

Eva Schloss: Alive and Well in London?
Eva Schloss's remarkable story of survival should be better publicized and used by teachers everywhere, especially since it allows young people to experience the Holocaust through the eyes of a teenager and her mother. Schloss's book is on a level with Gerda Klein's ALL BUT MY LIFE. The writing style is succinct and direct which adds to its appeal to young people.

As I read the book, I wondered for the thousandth time how such events could have occurred in "civilized" Europe in our lifetimes. The addition of a timeline of events related to WWII is especially helpful to students.

The remarkable relationship between this young woman and her mother is a testimony to the power of family relationships grounded in faith in a higher power. It stands in counterpoint to the somewhat strained relationship of Anne Frank and her mother while in hiding. Like Etty Hillesum's diaries and letters, it allows us to see the world through the eyes of a young girl who confronted evil "in the image and likeness of God," yet never lost her faith in humanity.

While I grieve for the author's loss of her father (Pappy) and her brother (Heinz), I rejoice that she lived to share her experiences with generations who may have a difficult time giving a human face to the Holocaust. Her mother's love for Otto Frank was certainly a factor in sustaining him as he dealt with the loss of his first wife and children.

I would love to meet Eva Schloss and her mother, if Mrs. Frank is still with us. The picture of mother and daughter on the back cover of the copy I received through our library really captures the spiritual strength and moral courage of these two incredible women. They have made the world a better place with their testimonies.

An exiting and human wiew of the hollocost
I've read the book and I think it was exellent. Exiting and very sad, sad because it was real everything, it was not just any story. What Eva told was real life experiences. But there nothing we can do about it now else than remember it and tell all about it to the kids when they grow up, it's really important to not forget what happend to the jews and other folk group during the 2 WW. I still pray for them. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Very Poignant Book
This is a superb visual realisation of the story of Anne,and I think that Adler has done it with great dignity and compassion. The drawing of Margot and Anne huddled in the Belsen camp is so real,it almost could count as being totally accurate,and one feels tremendous sadness looking at it. This book is a must,not just for children,but for anyone that has been touched by Anne's message of world peace.

I really enjoyed the book Anne Frank.
As a sixth grader I really enjoyed the book Anne Frank. The story was about Anne Frank,A brave young Jewish girl about 12 years old and her fourting year old sister. She found out at age 14 years old that she had to put a lot of cloths on. She had to hide in the attic for three years so the Nazis would not find them. It took place in Germany where her family lived. She once lived in a house,If she went to school she would be shot. The Nazis burnt all the Jewish books and pictures. A lot of children hid so they would not be shot because the people that hid them or they would be shot with no questions asked. The only person who survived was her dad, and the reason her mom died first, and Anne and her sister died after. I think the person who reads the book would cry or be really interesting in it. The book is based on her family life as a Jew in Germany.

This is the best book I ever read
I'm a 6th grader. This book is about Anne Frank when she was a young girl. Anne was born on June 12,1929. She had an older sister named Margot. Her parents names were Edith and Otto Frank. Her family lived in Frankfurt for hundreds of years. She had a peaceful life until the Nazis came. Anne Frank died when she was fifteen years old. Then someone found Anne's Frank diary, which got published in 1947. This is the best book I ever read because I like how it is written, telling the story clearly. I like how she did not die until she was fifteen years old. If I was Anne I don't think I would I have lasted that long because I don't think I could take care of myself that long. ... Read more

Book Description

This book addresses the chief accusations leveled against Freud and the oppositions to his discoveries. ... Read more

Book Description

Was Benjamin Franklin's famous electric kite experiment a fraud? And did it determine the course of the American Revolution?

Every schoolchild in America knows that Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1752. Electricity from the clouds above traveled down the kite's twine and threw a spark from a key that Franklin had attached to the string. He thereby proved that lightning and electricity were one.

What many of us do not realize is that Franklin used this breakthrough in his day's intensely competitive field of electrical science to embarrass his French and English rivals. His kite experiment was an international event and the Franklin that it presented to the world--a homespun, rural philosopher-scientist performing an immensely important and dangerous experiment with a child's toy--became the Franklin of myth. In fact, this sly presentation on Franklin's part so charmed the French that he became an irresistible celebrity when he traveled there during the American Revolution. The crowds and the journalists, and the ladies, cajoled the French powers into joining us in our fight against the British.

What no one has successfully proven until now--and what few have suggested--is that Franklin never flew the kite at all. Benjamin Franklin was an enthusiastic hoaxer. And with the electric kite, he performed his greatest hoax. As Tucker shows, it was this trick that may have won the American Revolution. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Interesting Theory, but How Accurate is It?
Tom Tucker's thesis -- that Ben Franklin's most famous and dramatic scientific experiment was a hoax -- holds up surprisingly well for most of his book. Tucker competently details the history of the eighteenth century science surrounding electricity, the various experiments with the phenomenon throughout Europe, and the personalities involved with its controversies. He is almost convincing in his portrayal of Franklin as something of an intellectually ambitious crank, using the sage of Philadelphia's numerous and well-documented literary hoaxes, among other things, to support the case for Franklin's alleged scientific hoaxes (the flying of the kite being but one of several scientific hoaxes Tucker says Franklin made up).

Tucker undermines his own book, however, by stretching his claims too far. He argues that Franklin's most famous scientific hoax was responsible for his oversized reputation in Europe, and that this reputation among Europeans was responsible, in turn, for Franklin's success as a diplomat in France during the Revolutionary War. Since France's support was a major factor in the American colonies winning their freedom from England, Tucker believes Franklin's hoax might have freed the American colonists: "It might have been a kite, the story of a kite, the hoax that won the American Revolution."

Of course that's a ludicrous judgment. And this highly questionable claim led me to look into how well Tucker's other claims on Franklin stand up. Even though "Bolt of Fate" was only just recently published, Walter Isaacson, the author of "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" deals with Tucker's claims in a long footnote in his biography, and he is mostly dismissive of them. Isaacson writes, "[Tucker's] book does not address the detailed evidence I. Bernard Cohen cites on this question and is, I think, unpersuasive. Franklin's kite description is in no ways similar to his literary hoaxes, and if untrue would have been an outright lie rather than a hoax. Tucker also makes the odd allegation that Franklin's description of his sentry box experiment was a death threat to the president of the London's Royal Society.... The comprehensive analysis by Cohen, a professor of the history of science who is the foremost authority on Franklin's electrical work, addresses fully and more convincingly the issues surrounding Franklin's sentry box, kite, and lightning rods." [Page 534]

I have not read Cohen's research, and so I'm not able to affirm Isaacson's judgments comparing it and Tucker's work. I can say that there are parts of Tucker's book which are interesting and valuable, and other parts in which its claims seem greatly overdone. Read "Bolt of Fate" for enjoyment, but also with more than a little caution.

More Benjamin?
In the last couple of years we've had major biographies of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands, Walter Isaacson, and Edmund Morgan. Now we have Tom Tucker's take on Franklin the "electrical scientist." (Gosh, we haven't even gotten to the tricentennial of Franklin's birth, which will be in 2006. One wonders what's in the publishing pipeline!) This book has quite a few pros and cons. Here are the pros: Because of the 3 recent general biographies, we probably didn't need another one. Mr. Tucker has done us a service by electing to concentrate on Franklin the scientist. And although Mr. Tucker's background is in writing about science, he has an engaging "popular" style. There's nothing dry about this book. Another plus is that Mr. Tucker goes to great pains to show us how myth becomes enshrined as reality. He makes a pretty good case that Franklin never actually flew his "electric kite." Looking carefully at the primary sources, we see that Franklin gave instructions on how to construct such a kite, but never actually claimed to have conducted the "kite in a thunderstorm" experiment himself. He was also uncharacteristically evasive when questioned about details of the experiment. Mr. Tucker also points out that Franklin was not averse to a bit of self-promotion. If people wanted to assume that he had flown a kite in a thunderstorm....well, he wasn't going to disabuse them of the notion. Likewise, although Franklin came up with the idea and "blueprint" for the lightning rod, he apparently tooted his own horn by lying to his European "colleagues" when he claimed that lightning rods were being attached to public buildings in Philadelphia earlier than the historical evidence shows they were. Franklin was presumably miffed that the Royal Society in London had been virtually ignoring the papers he had written on electricity up to this point, and was trying to gain some respect. (There is also evidence that Royal Society member William Watson was trying to claim some of Franklin's theories and experiments had originated, independently, with himself.) So, those are the pros. What are the cons? Perverse as it may seem, zeroing in on Franklin the scientist is one of them. Frankly, (sorry, I couldn't resist) there isn't a whole lot to zero in on. Taking 237 pages to prove that Franklin didn't fly a kite in a thunderstorm, and that he lied about when the first domestic lightning rod was constructed, can tax your patience. Also, anyone who has read anything previous on Franklin won't be surprised by the author's comments that Franklin was fond of hoaxes, practical jokes, and that he was a lot more sophisticated than his public persona. However, the most grievous "negative" is that the author tries to assert that Franklin was responsible for our victory in the Revolutionary War. The logic is as follows: Franklin's self-promotion as an "electrical scientist" resulted in his being immensely popular in France. He parlayed this popularity into gaining a great deal of influence with Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, et al. Bingo....he convinced the French to form an alliance with the upstart Americans, which enabled us to win the war. While it is true that Franklin was popular and had influence, it is a long stretch to say that he was single-handedly responsible for the French coming in on the American side. Other Americans, such as John Adams, played key roles, and the French had excellent reasons of their own to enter the fray. Mr. Tucker may have felt that the basic theme of his book didn't quite pack enough of a wallop, and so he decided to "jazz" the narrative up with "The French Connection." But, he took things a bit too far. In any case, this book is worth reading for its exploration of myth vs. reality and for its elucidation of 18th century professional jealousy and backbiting within the world of the "electrical scientists."

Fun Book
I enjoyed this book because the author obviously likes and respects Benjamin Franklin so the story of how he flew the kite is one of a celebration of Franklin. As an ex-US History I know the playful mischiefness wit of Franklin is lost in our classrooms. The book does a great job of exposing this other side of Franklin so often lost. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Freud the Scientist, the Atheist, the Jew
In 1918, Sigmund Freud posed the following question in a letter to his unlikely Swiss friend, the Christian pastor and lay analyst Oskar Pfister: "Quite by the way, why did none of the devout create psychoanalysis? Why did one have to wait for a completely godless Jew?" It is this question that provides both the epigraph and the intellectual predicate for "A Godless Jew," Peter Gay's erudite, brief and readable exploration of the relationship between Freud's atheism and his seminal, world-changing innovations in how mankind came to view the human mind in the twentieth century.

Subtitled "Freud, Atheism, and the Making of Psychoanalysis," Gay's short book was originally embodied in three lectures delivered at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in December 1986. It is an attempt, in Gay's words, "to translate [Freud's] two light-hearted rhetorical questions into three propositions." Gay states these propositions as follows:

"It was as an atheist that Freud developed psychoanalysis; it was from his atheist vantage point that he could dismiss as well-meaning but futile gestures all attempts to find common ground between faith and unbelief; it was, finally, as a particular kind of atheist, a Jewish atheist, that he was enabled to make his momentous discoveries."

After an introduction exploring the late nineteenth century intellectual milieu in which science and religion did battle ("Science Against Religion: 'Clericalism, There's the Enemy'"), wherein Gay succinctly draws a counterpoint between the thought of William James and Freud, "A Godless Jew" successively examines each of Gay's three propositions.

Chapter One ("The Last Philosophe: 'Our God Logos'") advances the notion that Freud was a child of the Enlightenment, a confirmed atheist who rejected all belief in supernatural faith as inconsistent with the scientific method. "Freud appropriated the whole range of the Enlightenment's agenda, its ideals and its methods, its very language." In doing so, Freud saw his mission, like that of the Philosophes who preceded him more than a century earlier, as one of "awaken[ing] the world from the enchantment in which the magicians and priests had held it imprisoned since pagan antiquity."

Chapter Two ("In Search of Common Ground: 'A Better Christian Never Was'") examines the antagonistic relationship between psychoanalysis and religion, an antagonism adumbrated by Freud himself: "Analysis produces no new world view. But it does not need one, for it rests on the general scientific world view with which the religious one remains incompatible." It also examines, however, the way in which many religious thinkers (including Freud's friend Pfister and the brilliant Paul Tillich) managed to absorb psychoanalysis into Christianity and Judaism through a syncretic legerdemain that simultaneously exasperates and amuses.

Chapter Three ("The Question of a Jewish Science") explores the relationship between Freud the Jew and Freud the scientist, for while Freud may have denied the existence of God, he never denied that he was a Jew. The question for Gay, then, is not one of Freud's Jewish identity, but "just what share that identity could have had in the making of psychoanalysis." In exploring the way in one may speak of the presence or absence of a "Jewish quality" in psychoanalysis, Gay examines the professional, intellectual, tribal, and sociological meanings of such a quality. It is an interesting, if at times unsatisfying, discussion that fails to provide the reader with a conclusion more definitive than Gay's statement that "Freud was a Jew, but not a Jewish scientist." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A wise book by a truly productive and wonderful human being.
Get a copy of this book. It can change your life. A must read before you leave the face of this earth. An insightful and wise view of life, other people and the world you live in. Fromm is the best. Thank God he lived and wrote everything down for us, and all we have to do is learn from it. After Fromm, you have no excuses for not "getting it".

A wise book by a truly productive and wonderful human being.
Get a copy of this book. It will change your life. A must read before you leave the face of this earth. A refreshing look at yourself, other people and the world you live in. Fromm is the best! ... Read more