false 3688884 5 <B>Bestselling author Steven Johnson recounts—in dazzling, multidisciplinary fashion—the story of the brilliant man who embodied the relationship between science, religion, and politics for America’'s Founding Fathers</B>.<BR><BR> <I>The Invention of Air</I> is a book of world-changing ideas wrapped around a compelling narrative, a story of genius and violence and friendship in the midst of sweeping historical change that provokes us to recast our understanding of the Founding Fathers.<BR><BR> It is the story of Joseph Priestley--—scientist and theologian, protégé of Benjamin Franklin, friend of Thomas Jefferson--—an eighteenth-century radical thinker who played pivotal roles in the invention of ecosystem science, the discovery of oxygen, the founding of the Unitarian Church, and the intellectual development of the United States. And it is a story that only Steven Johnson, acclaimed juggler of disciplines and provocative ideas, can do justice to.<BR><BR> In the 1780s, Priestley had established himself in his native England as a brilliant scientist, a prominent minister, and an outspoken advocate of the American Revolution, who had sustained long correspondences with Franklin, Jefferson, and John Adams. Ultimately, his radicalism made his life politically uncomfortable, and he fled to the nascent United States. Here, he was able to build conceptual bridges linking the scientific, political, and religious impulses that governed his life. And through his close relationships with the Founding Fathers—--Jefferson credited Priestley as the man who prevented him from abandoning Christianity--—he exerted profound if little-known influence on the shape and course of our history.<BR><BR> As in his last bestselling work, <I>The Ghost Map</I>, Steven Johnson here uses a dramatic historical story to explore themes that have long engaged him: innovation and the way new ideas emerge and spread, and the environments that foster these breakthroughs. And as he did in <I>Everything Bad Is Good for You</I>, Johnson upsets some fundamental assumptions about the world we live in--—namely, what it means when we invoke the Founding Fathers—--and replaces them with a clear-eyed, eloquent assessment of where we stand today. 3732320 26 12 2008 The Invention of Air total:246|5:47|4:104|3:74|2:18|1:3| 246 912 767 101 5 2 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 15:19:27 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 23:00:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 18:16:15 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 07:13:53 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 14:23:04 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 14:31:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 06:13:59 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 06:14:48 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 16 17:23:03 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 17:38:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 8 false false Sat May 09 17:06:14 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 17:19:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 27 12:25:59 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 12:51:06 -0700 2009
Th...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 11:43:17 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 12:45:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 08:07:31 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 04:14:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 04:44:06 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 06:54:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 08:29:28 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 10:32:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 20:45:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 20:48:17 -0700 2009 4 6 false false Sat Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 01:20:26 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 23:12:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 07:13:07 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 08:16:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 05 08:01:13 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 08:01:13 -0800 2009 Reviewers were, as usual, amazed by Steven Johnson's ability to recall not only great thinkers and scientific discoveries but also the world of ideas and technologies that sustained them. Many critics cited Priestley's experiments (such as seeing how long a mouse could live with and without plants i...

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