If Benjamin Franklin Had Facebook

American Enlightenments, a book by Professor Caroline Winterer, is a remarkable journey into the concepts of enlightenment, and how they formed the reason for, the support of, and the faith in the revolution that led to the formation of our country. More than just a political commentary, her book reaches into how British America (pre-1776), by virtue of its just-now-being-explored continent, provided much inspiration here and in intellectual circles in Europe to believe in the new, the possible, and the empirically validated - things we take for granted, today. Thoroughly researched, and dotted with memorably written phrases, this book is an excellent read.

 

Her presentation to us on March 16 promises to be just as engaging. She has tapped resources most of us are not even aware exist, and from these can draw conclusions on history, personalities of the past, and relevance to us today, that will be surprising and delighting to hear. She is an excellent speaker, as shown in this 10-minute video of her at a 2015 Stanford Connects (consider this a sneak preview of our 30 minute plus presentation in person): http://stanfordconnects.stanford.edu/watch/if-ben-franklin-had-facebook/