Atlantic Cousins: Benjamin Franklin and His Visionary Friends [Paperback]

Jack Fruchtman Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2007

Ben Franklin was at the heart of the Enlightenment. He drew to him some of the greatest minds of that time, people who remain among the most intriguing in history — Americans, Englishmen, and Frenchmen whose ideas continue to shape how we live. Through engaging anecdotes and short histories, Atlantic Cousins includes intimate portraits of Franklin and Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, Voltaire, the Marquis de Condorcet, Georges-Jacques Danton, Camille Desmoulins — and their arch-enemy, William Cobbett, an unrelenting monarchist and anglophile. Aside from the colorful personalities, author Jack Fruchtman documents developments from Thomas Paine's smokeless candles to the founding of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia; the debate that led to the Declaration of Independence; the abolitionist movement both in America and abroad; and Paine's Rights of Man. Atlantic Cousins contains numerous illustrations and maps that complement the material, and shows just how Ben Franklin and his circle of friends shaped this unique and remarkable period in history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

So much has already been written about Benjamin Franklin that authors are hard-pressed to understand and discuss his life in new and meaningful ways. Yet, by examining the intellectual relationships of some of the great liberal minds of the late 17th century, this volume from Fruchtman, a professor of political science at Towson University, breathes new life into Franklin's story. Fruchtman divides the book into three parts-America, England and France-each of which Franklin called home for extended periods of time. In so doing, the author introduces readers to Franklin's so-called "Atlantic cousins," people who alternately influenced and were influenced by Franklin, accounting for a century-long progressive dialogue on topics as varied as slavery, medicine, religion, political theory and human rights. Franklin's Atlantic cousins included, among others, Anthony Benezet, an early abolitionist whose influence may be seen in Franklin's own evolution from slave owner to abolitionist; Reverend Richard Priestley, a liberal dissenter in England who, like Franklin, favored the separation of church and state; and the Marquis de Condorcet, who "devoted his life to enhancing equality based on class, race, and gender." Fruchtman asserts that these overlapping ideologies were the product of an unprecedented exchange of progressive ideas, with Franklin at the center of it all. With its rich portraits and skillfully woven narrative, this surprisingly fresh look at Franklin and his contemporaries is a welcome addition to the Franklin library.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jack Fruchtman, Jr., is the author of Thomas Paine: Apostle of Freedom, and several books on the Age of Enlightenment. He is a professor of political science at Maryland's Towson University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560259620
• ISBN-13: 978-1560259626
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A time when politicians were honorable, October 17, 2005

By 

Amy Belle (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlantic Cousins: Benjamin Franklin and His Visionary Friends (Hardcover)

This book was one of the most intriguing, intellectually stimulating, and inspiring that I've ever read. Prof. Fruchtman weaves his profound knowledge of history with entertaining stories, historical facts, and details. The result is a genuine page-turner.

You will read this book amazed at how selfless and societal-thinking the great men and women of the 18th century were. They were true visionaries, and it is a way of thinking that we all must try and return to.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid Portraits of Franklin's Friends and Influences, August 20, 2006

By 

Charlie Young (Down in Old Virginny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlantic Cousins: Benjamin Franklin and His Visionary Friends (Hardcover)

The fresh approach of this fine series of short biographies of Benjamin Franklin's international collection of friends and influences is an excellent supplement for anyone who has read a book about Franklin and wants a wider point of view. Last year I read Walter Isaacson's bestselling book on Franklin, but realized that the great man didn't exist in a vacuum and I wanted to read more about some of the diverse circle of great minds around the world who helped shape Franklin's genius. This book provided exactly what I wanted.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for research and/or undergarduate studies of BF's background philosophy, February 1, 2010

By 

M. Feldman "Historical Novels Review" (San Juan PR USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Atlantic Cousins: Benjamin Franklin and His Visionary Friends (Hardcover)

I bought this book for a friend. But I truly recommended it more for research and/or undergraduate analysis of Benjamin Franklin's intellectual background philosophy. The book has several in depth examples of his intellectual "cousins" so to say with whom Benjamin Franklin conversed in America, England, and France during the "Age of Enlightenment". Abolitionists - Anthony Benezet of Philadelphia and Granville Sharp of London; British scientists and dissenters of the crown, Joseph Priestly and Richard Price, each of whom challenged Franklin to better understand church and state separation issues; the French Enlightenment genius, Marquis de Condorcet who authored "Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind" and was probably the "greatest French political conceptual thinker and observer; as well as Jean-Paul Marat and Franz Anton Mesmer, each of whom Franklin eventually rejected. This book has a solid perspective of Franklin and defines his American, English, and French contemporaries in a way that shows how those contacts had an interesting influence on the man's (BF) greatest political transformation.