The Kite that Won the Revolution

by Lacey Kat
(Copyright by the Author - all rights reserved)

(Known for his science fiction, Issac Asimov's actual literary output covered a vast array of topics.  In this review I will be looking at one of the good Doctor's historical output.) 


On June 27th, of 1962, Isaac Asimov was having lunch with Austin Olney. Austin was the head of the Juvenile Division of Houghton Mifflin Company. This was a publishing firm based in Boston. Austin and Isaac had been friends and professional associates since 1957 and it was not uncommon for Asimov to have lunch with people who might buy his work.

On this date, Austin had an idea for a new project for Isaac. Houghton Mifflin was busy putting out a series of juvenile books that dealt with American history. They were being edited by Sterling North who, at that time, was a book reviewer for the New York Post (and no stranger to Asimov, the writer of books). Mr. Olney wanted Isaac to do one of the series. After some thought Isaac suggested a book on Benjamin Franklin, with a strong look at his scientific discoveries. Austin agreed and that book became “The Kite That Won the Revolution.”

Asimov started writing the book in December of 1962 and finished it by the end of the year. On January 15 Isaac received a badly edited manuscript back from the series editor, the aforementioned Sterling North. Isaac understood the need to sometimes edit any work, or even any one of his. However, because of some past bad experiences with over-enthusiastic editors (who may not have understood the subject or point of Asimov’s current project), The good Doctor preferred to do the editing himself. If the editor or publisher did not like this, Asimov felt they did not have to buy his work. If a story was to be judged, Asimov wanted it to be judged on his work, not another’s editing.

Asimov went to Austin Olney and told him that while North’s series was good, his editing made “The Kite,” no longer a work of Asimov. As such he wanted the manuscript back. Austin came up with a better idea. Houghton Mifflin would publish the book as tomb unto itself, and not part of North’s series. This satisfied Asimov, it satisfied Austin, and it satisfied Houghton Mifflin. The only person it did not satisfy was Sterling North who called Asimov and screamed at him in a rather “high-pitched voice.”

You cannot please everyone, and you can seldom please editors.

“The Kite that Won the Revolution,” was published in 1963 and it did only moderately well as an independent book. It may have done better as part of the North series, but Asimov was pleased that he stuck by his principles and produced a work that was his own.

It is unfortunate that “The Kite,” did not do well and has been all but lost in the dustbins of publishing history. Let me tell you about the book and see if you agree with me.

“The Kite,” referred to in the title of this small but enlightening work, is the famous one flown by Ben Franklin. “The Revolution,” that it won was, of course, the American Revolution of 1776. It is here that Asimov begins his tale. He starts with the beginning of the fighting, in Concord, Massachusetts, in April of 1775. Asimov then moves to the battle of Bunker Hill, in June of the same year. This was the first important battle for the “colonists/ soon to be independents, because, although they lost, they put up a good fight against a better equipped, better trained, professional army. Asimov continues to relate the American’s valiant, though often un-victorious, efforts until the arrival of the French in 1778.

It is at this point that Asimov departs from his history lesson to teach a little about history. To do ventures to explain, rather well, how seemingly unrelated events connect to form our modern world. This was a device used most effectively twenty years later by the Science Editor of the BBC, James Burke, in his series for television, “Connections.”

Let me explain.

Asimov leaves the battlefield and the American Revolution with several questions hanging in the air. The main one was why the French, who were in no position, either financially or philosophically, to support the Americans, never the less did so. To answer that, the good Doctor first takes the young reader back forty or fifty million years, to a forest of pine trees on the northern coast of Europe. These trees produced enormous amounts of sap that hardened with contact with the air. This resin, (from the Greek word meaning “to flow”) hardened and was buried under the soil and the Baltic Sea. The resin took on a reddish-yellow color and became known as “amber.” Amber (or Bernstein in German) became prized for its color and ease in shaping into works of art. In 600 B.C.E., the Greek philosopher Tales found that by rubbing amber it would attract pieces of fluff, just like some rocks would attract pieces of iron. He wrote about this in his journals and decided that rocks that attract must have “souls.”

From here Asimov projects us to the 1500s and an Englishman by the name of William Gilbert. He was playing with the new invention, the compass. He found that when you rubbed amber it would attract the needle of a compass just like the “magnetic” force of a lodestone (natural magnet). Because the Latin name for amber was electrum, things that would attract when rubbed were called “vis electrica” or “the force of amber.” From this, we get the term “electricity.” Get the connection?

Asimov then details the discoveries of electricity from the 1500s to 1706 in his usual lively style. By the sixth chapter, he is ready to introduce us to the subject of his book, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was the only important scientist that the American colonies produced in their 169 from Jamestown to 1776. While singular in nature, however, Asimov shows how he was more than responsible for the French intervention in the American Revolution, and the final defeat of the British and the establishment of both the United States and of Canada.

“The Kite,” in the title is the kite Franklin flew to prove that the lightning in the sky was the same electricity that would be scientists had been producing by rubbing amber here on earth. For this, he became a respected scientist from a less than respected area of the new world. The other scientific accomplishments, along with his well-developed personal style, made him a revered and admired man in most of Europe. It was this respect that lead the French to help America, even though the principals of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” were not the principals of the French monarchy. All this is detailed in the rest of the book.

The only problem that I had with this intriguing history lesson is that it is indeed a “juvenile” book. The jacket says for ages eleven and up. However, I found that even a child in the fourth grade would have no trouble and that anyone over the age of fourteen would find this a quick read.

I found this interesting because while Asimov wrote a number of “juvenile” books, many reviewed in this section; he never seemed to talk down to his audience. His “Lucky Starr” stories and his books on chemistry and astronomy were always accessible to any reader. This book, however, is overly juvenile for most adults and that is too bad. It contains a wealth of information on the development of science in the “Age of Reason,” and most textbooks seldom approach this subject. I had no problem reading “The Kite,” because I was familiar with the author, however, older students and most adults would find it too elementary to hold their interest. Perhaps Isaac should have written an edition for the older members of his audience.

That said I can still recommend this book to anyone who can find it. The catalog number is “B Fr” in the Juvenile section of the library. You may have it in yours, and I would suggest making an effort to find out. An adult can finish it in one sitting, and a child in a couple of nights. It will educate both readers.

A small postscript;

Asimov was a big fan of Ben Franklin’s, and in 1974 he wrote several fantasy stories involving conversations between Isaac and Ben (The Dream; Benjamin’s Dream; Benjamin’s Bicentennial Blast) for the “Saturday Evening Post.  Later he used Franklin in his book “Norby and the Queen’s Necklace.”