Synopses & Reviews
Benjamin Franklin is the Founding Father who winks at us. An ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings, he seems made of flesh rather than of marble. In bestselling author Walter Isaacson's vivid and witty full-scale biography, we discover why Franklin seems to turn to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind his new-fangled spectacles. By bringing Franklin to life, Isaacson shows how he helped to define both his own time and ours.
He was, during his 84-year life, America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical -- though not most profound -- political thinkers. He proved by flying a kite that lightning was electricity, and he invented a rod to tame it. He sought practical ways to make stoves less smoky and commonwealths less corrupt. He organized neighborhood constabularies and international alliances, local lending libraries and national legislatures. He combined two types of lenses to create bifocals and two concepts of representation to foster the nation's federal compromise. He was the only man who shaped all the founding documents of America: the Albany Plan of Union, the Declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the peace treaty with England, and the Constitution. And he helped invent America's unique style of homespun humor, democratic values, and philosophical pragmatism.
But the most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first great publicist, he was, in his life and in his writings, consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity.
Through it all, he trusted the hearts and minds of his fellow "leather-aprons" more than he did those of any inbred elite. He saw middle-class values as a source of social strength, not as something to be derided. His guiding principle was a "dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people." Few of his fellow founders felt this comfort with democracy so fully, and none so intuitively.
In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklin's amazing life, from his days as a runaway printer to his triumphs as a statesman, scientist, and Founding Father. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. He also shows how Franklin helped to create the American character and why he has a particular resonance in the twenty-first century.
Review
"[A]n admirable work that takes its place among recently acclaimed biographies by H.W. Brands and Edmund Morgan as one with special appeal to a general audience." Library Journal
Review
"[Franklin] remains an ideal American type and one well served by this sympathetic and admiring study....a solid contribution to Frankliniana." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Isaacson...has a keen eye for the genius of a man whose fingerprints lie everywhere in our history. The oldest, most distinctive and multifaceted of the founders, Franklin remains as mysterious as Jefferson." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Isaacson has crafted a wonderfully written biography, and his treatment of Franklin's youth and rise to prominence is insightful and imaginative." John Ferling, The Washington Post
Review
"It is a thoroughly researched, crisply written, convincingly argued chronicle that is also studded with little nuggets of fresh information." Joseph J. Ellis, The New York Times
Synopsis
In this authoritative and engrossing full-scale biography, Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of
Einstein and
Steve Jobs, shows how the most fascinating of America's founders helped define our national character.
Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us, the one who seems made of flesh rather than marble. In a sweeping narrative that follows Franklin's life from Boston to Philadelphia to London and Paris and back, Walter Isaacson chronicles the adventures of the runaway apprentice who became, over the course of his eighty-four-year life, America's best writer, inventor, media baron, scientist, diplomat, and business strategist, as well as one of its most practical and ingenious political leaders. He explores the wit behind Poor Richard's Almanac and the wisdom behind the Declaration of Independence, the new nation's alliance with France, the treaty that ended the Revolution, and the compromises that created a near-perfect Constitution.
In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklin's amazing life, showing how he helped to forge the American national identity and why he has a particular resonance in the twenty-first century.
Synopsis
Presents a portrait of Benjamin Franklin as a scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, business strategist, and statesman while tracing his life as one of America's Founding Fathers.
Synopsis
In this authoritative and engrossing full-scale biography, Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of andlt;Iandgt;Einstein andlt;/Iandgt;and andlt;Iandgt;Steve Jobsandlt;/Iandgt;, shows how the most fascinating of America's founders helped define our national character.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us, the one who seems made of flesh rather than marble. In a sweeping narrative that follows Franklinand#8217;s life from Boston to Philadelphia to London and Paris and back, Walter Isaacson chronicles the adventures of the runaway apprentice who became, over the course of his eighty-four-year life, Americaand#8217;s best writer, inventor, media baron, scientist, diplomat, and business strategist, as well as one of its most practical and ingenious political leaders. He explores the wit behind andlt;Iandgt;Poor Richardand#8217;s Almanacandlt;/Iandgt; and the wisdom behind the Declaration of Independence, the new nationand#8217;s alliance with France, the treaty that ended the Revolution, and the compromises that created a near-perfect Constitution.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklinand#8217;s amazing life, showing how he helped to forge the American national identity and why he has a particular resonance in the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Walter Isaacson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, has been chairman of CNN and the managing editor of andlt;iandgt;Timeandlt;/iandgt; magazine. He is the author of andlt;iandgt;The Innovators: andlt;/iandgt;andlt;iandgt;How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolutionandlt;/iandgt;; andlt;iandgt;Steve Jobsandlt;/iandgt;; andlt;iandgt;Einstein: His Life and Universeandlt;/iandgt;; andlt;iandgt;Benjamin Franklin: An American Lifeandlt;/iandgt;; and andlt;iandgt;Kissinger: A Biographyandlt;/iandgt;, and the coauthor of andlt;iandgt;The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Madeandlt;/iandgt;. He lives in Washington, DC. Follow him on Twitter @WalterIsaacson.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;CONTENTSandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER ONEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Benjamin Franklin and the Invention of Americaandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER TWOandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Pilgrim's Progress: Boston, 1706-1723andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER THREEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Journeyman: Philadelphia and London, 1723-1726andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FOURandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Printer: Philadelphia, 1726-1732andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FIVEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Public Citizen: Philadelphia, 1731-1748andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SIXandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Scientist and Inventor: Philadelphia, 1744-1751andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SEVENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Politician: Philadelphia, 1749-1756andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER EIGHTandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Troubled Waters: London, 1757-1762andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER NINEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Home Leave: Philadelphia, 1763-1764andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER TENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Agent Provocateur: London, 1765-1770andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER ELEVENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Rebel: London, 1771-1775andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER TWELVEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Independence: Philadelphia, 1775-1776andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER THIRTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Courtier: Paris, 1776-1778andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FOURTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Bon Vivant: Paris, 1778-1785andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FIFTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Peacemaker: Paris, 1778-1785andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SIXTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Sage: Philadelphia, 1785-1790andlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SEVENTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Epilogueandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER EIGHTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Conclusionsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Cast of Charactersandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chronologyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Currency Conversionsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Sources and Abbreviationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Indexandlt;/Iandgt;