NEW - Nearly every schoolchild in America knows that Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1752. The kite conducted electricity and thew a spark from a key that Franklin attached to the kite's string. He thereby proved that lightning and electricity were one. In this book, Tom Tucker revisits the scientific scene of the mid-eighteenth century; a jostling experimental arena that attracted philosophers, aristocrats, celebrated beauties, wheeler-dealers and social climbers. What no one has successfully proven until now - and what few have suggested - is that Franklin never flew the kite at all. He was an enthusiastic hoaxer and his quick wits and natural mischievousness served him well throughout his career as he launched a number of pranks and deceptions. With the electric kite, he managed the greatest hoax of them all. 297 pages including an index, bibliography, and end notes. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

ELECTRICITY EXPERIMENTS FRANKLIN BENJAMIN 1706 HOAX PHYSICS LIGHTENING BIOGRAPHY