Hinsdale’s Richard Munson has authored a long list of books on seemingly disparate topics — from biographies on Jacques Cousteau and Nikola Tesla to examinations of the $210 billion electric industry and how technology is changing the food we eat.
But if you look closely, there’s a thread that ties them all together.
“I’m just quite fascinated with innovators, people who bring new ideas to life,” he told me last week.
The latest innovator who captured his interest is one of our founding fathers. And residents can learn more about his new book, “Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist,” when he sits down with Karen Keefe, the library’s executive director, from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the library (see Page 54 for more details).
Franklin’s contributions to science have been largely ignored by other biographers, Munson said, and seemed particularly appropriate to write about given what he sees as a current trend.
“Relative to those that are increasingly questioning science and truth, I think he provides a useful counterpoint,” Munson said of the man who conducted cutting-edge research of electricity and was committed to verifiable analysis.
He also possessed characteristics Munson admires — tolerance, civility and a sense of humor.
“Franklin was just brilliant in that regard,” Munson said. “He always added a bit of humor to what he was trying to advance. He made his arguments more clear and more easy to convey to a wider audience because he had a sly sense of humor about him.”
Munson said he was frequently entertained reading Franklin’s notes and impressed by the sense of joy with which he conducted his experiments.
“Even when his idea of an experiment didn’t work, he was still sort of going, ‘That’s interesting. That’s a new angle I hadn’t really thought of,’ ” Munson said.
Because scholars in the American Philosophical Society at Yale University have transcribed and cataloged “virtually everything” Franklin wrote along with letters he received, researching the book was as easy as conducting searches online.
“I’m sitting in my bathrobe looking at the notes that were written to him,” Munson said with a laugh.
He also learned a lot about Franklin from the host of other biographers who have written about him.
“In part I wanted to acknowledge that scholarship. Some of them are really good,” he said.
He said he typically collects far more information on an individual than actually ends up in his book.
“This is my third or fourth biography, so I think I’ve gotten better about throwing out information that doesn’t interest me,” Munson said, adding “there are probably readers who think I should do more of that.”
Munson spent about three years researching and writing the book. Some days more words made it on the page than others.
“There are days I can spend four hours and think that I’ve spent five minutes, and there are other days that I’m going back and forth to the refrigerator a lot,” he said.
After finishing Franklin’s biography, Munson turned to his other interest with “Power Corrupts: Cleaning Up America’s Biggest Industry,” which is due out in June 2025.
Those who would like to hear a bit from Munson in person can check out a short video on the library’s website at http://www.hindalelibrary.info, said John Kokoris, the library’s marketing and outreach manager.
“One of our board’s strategic priorities for us is to help share the unique voice and stories of all the fascinating people who live in Hinsdale and use our library,” Kokoris said. “This is a great way if someone can’t make it to a library event that they can still here a little bit directly from these amazing people who come to the library and share their stories and their experiences with the community.”
Since Munson serves on the library board, it seems only fitting that he be the subject of this first video.
I confessed to Munson that I’m not a huge fan of biographies. Maybe his will change my mind. I haven’t finished it, but I’m enjoying it so far.
— Pamela Lannom is editor of The Hinsdalean. Readers can email her at [email protected].
