Wood scrutinizes the less typically American traits possessed by Franklin--such as his longtime loyalty to the Crown--and why he still became one of the Revolution's necessary men.

From the author who gave us" Cod," "Salt," and other informative bestsellers, the first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.

Thomas Edison, world-class inventor. You might know that he devised the electric light bulb and the phonograph. But what about his development of train-controlling sticks? Or his airborne way to send pancakes to his Cousin Fran in Texas? You're about to be treated to the Lieographical aspects of Thomas Edison's life, in this funny, lighthearted, "all that didn't happen" take on the man whose inventions transformed our daily existence. The book ends...

The author explores the beginnings of Edison's genius from his boyhood delight in mixing chemicals, sometimes with explosive results, to this disastrous time in school, even his early career as a twelve-year old businessman. He celebrates the imagination and stick-to-itiveness of the man who is America's greatest inventor and entrepreneur.

Chronicles the life and achievements of the NASA engineer and inventor, from his childhood to his accidental invention of the Super Soaker water gun.