The Founding Fathers. Networked.
By James Burke
Using the unique, associative approach that made his previous work famous, author and television commentator James Burke reveals our unexpected connections to the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Across the two and a half centuries that separate us, these connections are often surprising and always fascinating. Burke transforms the signers from distant historical icons into flesh-and-blood people: masterful political operators, shady financial manipulators, flawed humans, and truly great visionaries. The sprawling network that links them to us is populated by all sorts—from spies and artists to inventors and astronomers. While the ties may be more direct for some, Burke illustrates how we are all linked in profound ways to the founders of our nation.
If you enjoyed Martin Sheen as the president on television's The West Wing, you're connected to founder Josiah Bartlett. The thread linking signer Bartlett to Sheen weaves through John Paul Jones, an incestuous astronomer, early pioneers of television, and pioneering TV personality Bishop Fulton J. Sheen—the very inspiration for Ramon Estevez's screen name, Martin Sheen. It is a captivating journey through the web of history.
🔭 From the Desk of Paul Bracken:
Writing this on the occasion of our nation's 250th anniversary, I can't help but think back to how we celebrated the bicentennial 50 years ago: by landing the Viking spacecraft on the surface of Mars.
Now, it might be possible for any nation with enough resources to build a remarkable machine like the Viking Lander and set it down on a distant world. However, I’ve always felt that to consistently achieve the impossible—like using a rocket-powered sky crane to gently lower a car-sized rover onto that same alien terrain—you need a society built on the principles we've come to expect here in the United States.
I'm talking about the free expression of ideas, the freedom to associate and collaborate with others to chase a crazy dream, and the democratic institutions that foster the free spirit of innovation. That is what we space exploration enthusiasts have to be grateful for, and it is why I hold a special admiration for the founding fathers of our American experiment. In this book, Burke gives us a unique and compelling perspective on the men who sparked that spirit of discovery.
