The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin (Completed Autobiography) [Hardcover]

Mark Skousen (Author), Benjamin Franklin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2005

Readers and historians have long lamented that Franklin failed to complete his Autobiography. While a classic in literature and among the most widely read autobiographies in the world, he stopped writing it in 1757-years before the most exciting events of his life. Now, in honour of the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth, Skousen has finished the autobiography completely in Franklin's own words.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin Fraklin, considered the grandfather of America, is Mark Skousen’s eighth-generation grandfather, through Franklin’s grandson Louis Bache. He has had a lifelong interest in the "grandfather" of our nation. Dr. Skousen’s career has sometimes followed that of his illustrious ancestor, as a publisher, author, financial advisor, teacher, father, public servant, and world traveler. He is also the author of The Wit and Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin.

From AudioFile

Benjamin Franklin never completed his autobiography. Because of the efforts of Mark Skousen, one of Franklin's descendants, who meticulously compiled and edited Franklin's papers, this title fills the void, using Franklin's own words. Richard Ferrone's performance captures the many facets of this brilliant, fascinating, and multitalented American. Ferrone portrays Franklin's intelligence and wit with an understated style that brings out a personality that continues to captivate and intrigue. Ferrone clearly enjoys "being" Franklin, and listeners will be similarly engaged by this book, which provides candid answers to many questions historians have pondered. THE COMPLEATED AUTOBIOGRAPHY is the next best thing to having an autobiography completed by Franklin himself. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery History (November 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895260336
• ISBN-13: 978-0895260338
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real literary gem, December 20, 2005

By 

Nelson Hultberg (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin (Completed Autobiography) (Hardcover)

This is one of those books you just don't want to end. You treasure every nuance and anecdote. The work that Dr. Skousen must have put into it to coordinate the needed material from hundreds of thousands of pages of Franklin's writings -- what a feat of scholarship! Very impressive.

The trick was to make it read like an actual autobiography, which Skousen has pulled off. To do this, the project must have been akin to Spielberg shooting the scenes of one of his famous movies and then putting it all together in the cutting room. You are swept up in Franklin the man, his ingenious mind, his multifarious views, his contemporaries' personalities, and his country's hopes. Franklin is telling you his story with his inimitable persona, but Skousen has orchestrated it, and superbly so.

There is a mesmerizing quality to the book that lures you in, which surely is due to the quality of Franklin's lofty character; but also due to the way that his writing has been compiled into an enthralling story.

There are some startling revelations scattered throughout. Good old Ben talks rather openly on certain subjects and certain people. I will leave the details of such revelations to the reader's perusal. But this tome is well worth the price. It is a book that you will return to repeatedly to savor Franklin's pithy observations.

The man was rife with philosophical wisdom and a myriad of inventive talents, undoubtedly one of those souls that was wise at an early age. He had a very balanced view of life and a most engaging personality that made him loved by all American patriots as well as the English and the French people.

But this lovableness of the sage Doctor did not prohibit him from taking an unyielding stand upon principle when called for. He was outspokenly honest to those he felt were being deceitful, or unpatriotic, or stupid and shortsighted. The man spoke his mind to the world around him. This makes for a very appealing character to delve into. And Skousen captures just this combination with his weaving of the literary output that Franklin left us.

The Franklin image that emerges is that of a fascinating Renaissance man, an American Da Vinci who understood that the pursuit of worldly success without the acquiring of moral virtue could never end well.

We owe a great debt to Mark Skousen for the "compleating" of Franklin's legendary autobiography. This literary gem belongs in every American's home. Patriotism for our country and its original vision of life just got a new lease on legitimacy and desirability.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both well-researched and highly readable!, December 17, 2005

By 

B. Mccormick "Blaine McCormick, author of 'Be... (Waco, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin (Completed Autobiography) (Hardcover)

Dr. Skousen, a descendent of Franklin, has done everyone a great favor by collecting the rest of Franklin's autobiographical writings in one place. This book is incredibly well-crafted. Skousen clearly spent many hours pouring over Franklin's writings and papers choosing the most exemplary from the thousands of pages available. Then he masterfully edits the texts to make them accessible to the modern reader without losing Franklin's voice. This takes not only skill but love. Skousen clearly loves Franklin and brings Franklin's fascinating life and legacy to all readers. Franklin was our most versatile and resourceful founding father and his life lessons still resonate today. This book is for anyone who wishes to have a deeper, fuller understanding of American history.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes us from the end of Part III of Franklin's Autobiography to the end of his life in his own words, April 15, 2006

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin (Completed Autobiography) (Hardcover)

Benjamin Franklin is one of those most rare historical figures who retain a sense of immediacy and relevance to every subsequent generation. As I read his writings, I am reminded on each page of his immense intellectual gifts, his endless curiosity, and his ability to observe things in the sharpest detail. Franklin's writings fill many volumes and a library could be filled with just books about this very important American. With all that, does this book make a significant enough contribution to warrant your purchasing and reading it? I answer with an emphatic YES!

Franklin worked on his memoirs at different periods in his life beginning in 1771. While a Colonial Agent in England, he was staying at Bishop Jonathan Shipley's house and wrote Part I there when he was 65 years old. It covers his life from his birth in 1706 to 1730. Part II of his autobiography was written in Paris in 1784 when he was the American minister to France. Part II includes his famous list of virtues. Part III covers the years 1732-57 and was written in 1788 when Franklin was 82. Part IV is only a few pages long and not all editions include this portion. It was written over a few months in late 1789 through March 1790 - shortly before Franklin's death. You can, and should, pick up any number of editions of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I particularly like the volume prepared by the Library of America and it has all four portions.

This volume was prepared by one of Franklin's descendents, Mark Skousen. The author of the words included in this volume, though, is Benjamin Franklin. Skousen has done a masterful job of taking us from 1757 through 1787 and Franklin's last will and testament of 1788. As an editor, Skousen has shown his attention to Franklin's style and purpose of what was included in the parts of the autobiography that Franklin wrote. Franklin was aware of his public stature and, while quite frank, included things to edify others, in particular youth, rather than to satisfy the curiosity of gossips or to give satisfaction to his enemies. Skousen has made each page of this book a delight because of the portion of Franklin's writings he does include.

We see him as a diplomat, as a philosopher and thinker, as a socialite, a revolutionary, and as a private person with family concerns. While you will still want to read at least a couple of the better biographies of Franklin as well as the complete autobiography prepared by Franklin, this compleated version is a great service to those of us interested in the man and his life in his own words and from his own perspective.

Please, get yourself a copy. You will enjoy it very much.