"Fascinating, insightful, and, best of all, great fun...with spirited charm, Mead weaves history, music, science, and medicine into the story" (The Washington Post) of Ben Franklin's favorite invention: the glass armonica.

Benjamin Franklin is renowned for his landmark inventions, including bifocals, the Franklin stove, and the lightning rod. Yet his own favorite invention--the one he said gave him the "greatest personal satisfaction"--is unknown to the general public. The glass armonica, the first musical instrument invented by an American, was constructed of stacked glass bowls...