Customer Reviews

Benjamin Franklin (Yale Nota Bene)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We hear about many people nowadays who are called "leaders of this or that people"; this is a biography of a man who really was a leader of a people and as such, it is good to read this short and critically-acclaimed biography to discover what a people's leader is.

In these pages, Benjamin Franklin emerges as a man who "did as much as any to shape the world he and" his contemporaries lived. Here we see a person who throughout his life sought to determine what was in the public interest and who then tried to persuade the people to act for their own good. But he never tried to place what he thought good "above what they did". Furthermore, he never tried to gain even adequate compensation for his long and hard years as a public servant because he believed that private property was not a natural but a society-given right and that society should therefore see to it that no-one had too much wealth.

This, of course, is not a view often associated with the author of the Poor Man's Almanac-even though he held this opinion since at least 1750 when he wrote that "what we have above what we can use, is not properly ours, tho' we possess it." Yet it is a view that we in a time littered with corrupt politicians who steal several million here and a billion there; who impose their idea of what is good on a people who as often as not are forced to obey or be killed; in a time when these thugs are yet called "leaders", might do well to recall.

For here in a little over 300 pages we have a portrait of a true leader. A man who spoke little, listened a lot, and who led Americans to independence (although he would have personally preferred a British Empire of Equals). It would be good for us to remember this man for we live in a time when the men we call leaders are often anything but. Yet, perhaps when we recognize what makes a true leader we will once again have them.

This is both a fascinating book, and it is about one of the
most fascinating subjects, Benjamin Franklin.
The book is a little on the short side, but the author explains
he kept it a bit limited in scope on purpose. He intends for
it to be readable,and he wants to concentrate on Franklin's public service; plus, he tends to focus on his overseas assignments on behalf of the 13 Colonies, as well as his later
service on behalf of the new United States.
No hero of our Revolution is more complex and diverse than
Franklin, and his public service far exceeds that of any other
of the Founders. We tend to forget how old Franklin was at the
time of some of his greatest service. After nearly 10 years in
England, trying to pursuade the English authorities in Parliament of the wisdom of keeping their American colonies within the British Empire by giving them equal status in that
Empire, and finally failing, he returned home to Philadelphia.
And the next day, he was elected to the Second Continental Congress.
As he entered the State House in Philadelphia to begin his term
in that Congress, it is noted that he served in that same building years before in the colonial assembly. And when he
served in the colonial government, some of the greatest of Founders weren't born yet; at that time, for example, Patrick
Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and John Adams had not even been born. Franklin served all those years, and as the
Revolution was progressing, and he was in his 70s, the new government sent him to France to procure loans and to negotiate
treaties with France to help in their fight for Independence.
That he succeeded is evident, and he spent several years in France serving his new country.
The book reveals, in very interesting detail, that Franklin was
so revered and so respected in England, that while he was living
there, fighting for better understanding by Parliament, he was
blamed for everything that was happening in the Colonies. When
an assembly in Bostom forwarded new demands to King George III,
which inflamed Parliament, the Solicitor General called Franklin
the "great director" of those events and demands. The author
very nicely points out that the probably author of those demands
from Bostom, Samuel Adams, needed no direction from Franklin on
how to inflame independence passions.
When the Boston Tea Party took place in Boston harbor, in protest against Parliament's tax on imported tea, the Secretary

for Colonial Affairs told Parliament the whole affair looked
like it came from "...the Franklin school of politics."
About that time, Franklin's English friends advised him he was
facing arrest, and many were afraid for his physical safety.
But he continued doing his job for the Colonies, and although
he met with much frustration in dealing with British authorities, he never wavered in his efforts to help the Colonies.
Franklin showed style, energy, and he exercised more diplomacy
in both England and France than we can imagine, and this author
does a nice job of pointing out his efforts and accomplishments.

I approached this book with great expectations, the title alone offers the reader a hope of something gained, something learned from such a landmark individual. It will disappoint if this is your expectation, however it will also keep you reading. I finished this book, despite my difficulty in finishing most books. Morgan's writing can be extremely cluttered at times, using double-negatives again and again so that you re-read the same sentence three times to make sure you understand what he means. Instead of using periods he employs commas, to the dismay of a reader who can only hold the theme of the sentence in mind for so long. I have to imagine there were books better written about Franklin, but if you decide on this one, you will still walk away with a remarkable image of the man. It's like a college survey course, if you are truly interested, there is more in-depth material out there for you to explore. Just don't expect this book to cover Franklin and his achievements in a complete way, it's not the intent of the author.

Edmund Morgan presents a very different approach to analyzing Ben Franklin's life. He does not go day by day or even year by year but instead looks at the overall legacy. While I think this is an interesting way to look at Franklin's life it is not as useful as Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. It is still possible to learn a lot about his cultural legacy and intellectual legacy. I did learn things about Ben Franklin that I had not from other biographies because this does stick to the large picture. This book does cover the essentials as others have noted but I think it also sets a new and exciting trend for biographies. To get the place of a person in history it is worth looking at how they fit in to larger events as opposed to just their life. Morgan's writing is very engaging and this is a valuable addition to the literature on Benjamin Franklin.

This book is presented so well. The author finds Franklin as a teenager in Philadelphia not sure of where he's going or what he's doing. He takes us through Franklin's early scientific studies and into his life as a printer. Franklin loved the idea of an Anglo-American empire and fought stallwartly for that end. He wined and dined with the highest high-brows in London trying to facillitate that end and finally came home to help write the Declaration of Independence when the Britons didn't see the value of his ideas. They were more inclined to taxation without representation and as we know that did not work out well for them in the end.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Benjamim Franklin and/or the events of political, colonial America prior to the American Revolution.

This is an insightful, relatively brief (yet complete) account of the contributions of Benjamin Franklin. Of special interest to me were the gradual modifications of his loyalties prior to the revolutionary war and the extent of his contributions (mostly without portfolio) as a statesman of the world.

While this biography of Franklin may not be for everyone I found it highly readable (except for a few sections on Pennsylvania politics), authoritative, and very interesting in the path in takes as the historian seeks to understand this remarkable man. It couldn't have been easy being a genius living in a time of superstiution, ignorance and enormous intolerance. Franklin not only navigated successfully but was able to quietly effect great change be it starting militias, hospitals, fire departments,and libraries or gently guiding his fellow colonists toward independence. He said he wanted to be remembered as a man who 'lived usefully' a suitable goal for us all I think.

There are many books on Benjamin Franklin's life. Some are better than others, and some are worse. But Edmund S. Morgan's biography titled Benjamin Franklin is defiantly one of the better ones out there. His book is easy to read, gives you a lot of information in a relatively short amount of pages, and is well written. The reader is kept entertained all throughout the book while still learning about Benjamin Franklin's life, in a quick and easy to read manner. Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan is a great book.
Edmund Morgan's book is easy to read. The way he wrote it keeps the reader interested in the plot. He wrote it in such a way that it feels like you are reading a story instead of a biography. He makes Benjamin Franklin more relatable to the reader. Morgan wrote about Benjamin Franklin in a way that made it seem like he was just a normal person. The author uses everyday language in the book. There aren't any confusing words or sentences. The exert, "A stretch of the imagination was already needed to regard the consent of a representative ad the consent of the people who chose him"(page 95), shows that even when describing some thing that can get a little confusing, the reader can still follow what is going on.
For a short book, Benjamin Franklin gives the reader a lot of information. The book covers most, if not all, of Benjamin Franklin's life. It starts out from when he was in his early teens, and ends with his death. The book goes through his life at a fast but reasonable rate, leaving nothing out. Although it gives you a lot of information, it didn't seem like you were reading fact after fact after fact. It flowed though Franklin's life leaving nothing out. The book even told lesser known facts about Franklin. In the beginning of the book when we are just being introduced to Franklin, we are told of a story from when he was in his early twenties, he and his friends stole a boat so they would be able to get back to their homes safely very early in the morning. And the book continues to give you little antidotes through out the book. So, in that way the reader is refreshing the knowledge that they already had about Benjamin Franklin, and learning about things that they didn't know about him as well.
Benjamin Franklin is a very well written book. The author researched Benjamin Franklin thoroughly after reading the volumes of Benjamin Franklin's Papers, a book put together by a bunch pf scholars. The book contains all of the writings that Benjamin Franklin has written. After reading the volumes, Edmund S. Morgan researched and read more about Benjamin Franklin, and was inspired to write this book. Once again, the reader doesn't get too bored while reading the book. Morgan found away to give the reader all of the facts about Franklin's life, without making it seem too factual or boring in the least bit. Although, some parts do get a little long and drawn out, they aren't completely boring. There is still an interest level that the reader keeps throughout the whole book.
There are a lot of biographies of Benjamin Franklin, and some are good, while others are bad. But .Edmund S. Morgan's biography Benjamin Franklin is a book that is easy to read, gives the reader a lot of information in a short amount of pages and time, and is very well written. Through antidotes, and little known facts about Benjamin Franklin, Morgan tells the tale of Franklins life in a way that will keep the reader entertain and coming back for more.

gave this as a gift after my husband LOVED it ---it was greatly appreciated by the recipient -Ben Franklin rocks!

Such a disappointment ... such a fascinating individual and yet you will not find that in this book. It is not a biography of Benjamin Franklin ... instead it is a step by step ... detailed to the point of boredom ... account of the United States' struggle for independence from England.

If you a true history buff, you may appreciate this historical account. However, if you are trying to learn more about the man and his life, you will not find it in this book!