Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
A Norton Critical Edition
Ratings36
Average rating4
15
A Norton Critical Edition
Ratings36
Average rating4
Few men could compare to Benjamin Franklin. Virtually self-taught, he excelled as an athlete, a man of letters, a printer, a scientist, a wit, an inventor, an editor, and a writer, and he was probably the most successful diplomat in American history. David Hume hailed him as the first great philosopher and great man of letters in the New World.
Written initially to guide his son, Franklin's autobiography is a lively, spellbinding account of his unique and eventful life. Stylistically his best work, it has become a classic in world literature, one to inspire and delight readers everywhere.
Reviews with the most likes.
A book that has redefined Franklin in my eyes. Tells the story of his highly remarkable life from his own perspective. Gives insights into productivity, leadership, wealth creation, philanthropy, and social good.
I am re-reading it to get all identified action points executed, for example, the day planning method.
Fantastic. What an instructive bit of prose - history, biography, and moral structure.
I think the audiobook is a good way to get through the material, but a text may be well used for reference, remembrance, and motivation.
Admittedly, I grabbed this book because I needed 1 more nonfiction to complete my New Year's Resolution and this one was short. It's also the first in the Harvard 5 foot shelf that I downloaded when it went on sale this year and I enjoyed making the tiniest dent in that. That said, I was fascinated by a lot of Franklin's proposals. He wrote this in 1781, folks, and in it he condemns anti-vaxxers, promotes taxation for infrastructure, writes about founding a public religious space where anyone (he cites the Mufti of Constantinople preaching Mohammadanism) could speak, and even suggests a rudimentary public health care system where anyone, regardless of what lands they are from, could be helped. I guess the only part our current politicians have read are the racist asides about drunken Indians...
