Customer Reviews

Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is truly a fun little book. It's worth having on your shelf when friends come over and peruse your collection. Without fail they'll pull this one out thinking it's nothing but potty humor. Then they see WHO?!?! Ben Franklin?!?!!? WHAT?!?!?

This very small book is a collection of the satire of Ben Franklin. Those of you looking for a good book of fart jokes will be deeply disappointed. Those looking for a good laugh will not be. Those looking to learn more about Ben Franklin will learn a great deal.

A few must-reads are "Rules on Making Oneself Disagreeable" (though farting is not mentioned), "On choosing a Mistress" (again, no farting, but it's hilarious), and the best of all "A Letter to a Royal Academy" in which Franklin makes a suggestion to a group of scientists: throw away all your abstract theory and find a way to make farts smell nice. It is the most subtle and disparaging piece I've ever read, and it rides that line between "is he SERIOUS?!?" and "is this is a joke!??!"

There are actually historically important pieces in this book, believe it or not. Don't let the title throw you. "Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced" is cutting satire from right before the American revolution. It ran in papers of the time and made an impact. "The Speech of Miss Polly Baker," about a woman having children out of wedlock, was reported as fact throughout the colonies until Franklin admitted the joke.

And finally, for those looking for good fart humor, there's "The Dream" from which the book takes its title. Read and giggle 'till you cough.

Something the book does not mention is that many of these pieces were originally published anonymously, as was the custom in the 18th century. You would not have seen "'Fart Proudly' by Benjamin Franklin" in the press. Instead there would have been no name on the piece or a false one. Franklin assumed numerous false names throughout his life, as did most authors of the time. Writing was more about what was being written than who was writing it. This has changed drastically in the intervening centuries.

Hopefully this selection will whet your appetite for more Ben Franklin. He wrote an incredible amount, much of it is very funny as well as significant. He was no stodgy old professor, as this book more than proves. If you enjoy this collection, go out and get more, or read a biography. You'll find there's much more to Ben Franklin than you ever thought.

Fart Proudly is a collection of Ben Franklin's lesser known but most interesting writings. They cover a variety of subjects but all exhibit Franklin's questioning nature and many show a sense of humor I never guessed present in Ben. The book's title is derived from a letter he wrote to the scholars at the Royal Collages in England, whom he considered petty and constipated. Highly recommended.

This is a good book to go along with all the policitcally correct studies of Mr. Franklin in our public schools. This is the more controversial side, the cantankerous side, the mischievous side of our great American patriot.

Mr. Franklin's writings on choosing a mistress are both funny and eye opening. His letter to those holding a scientific competition asking that they find a way to improve the smell of 'human wind' is absolutely hilarious. His perceptions on what happens when you try to please everyone are very insightful but seldom taught.

Mr. Franklin's article that tears down the actions of the free press of his day are also relevant today. He was a great believer in freedom of speach but a watch dog of press.

Although this book is short, it is worth the read. We should be teaching our children the entire Ben Franklin (as we should with all historical figures) not just the politically correct view that we now teach to them. Read this book, decide for yourself.

I found these works by Franklin to be very enlightening. The title may throw some off track, but it's not potty humour from one of America's most beloved statesmen. The title instead alludes more to figurative reference regarding the social conditions of Dr. Franklin's day. In today's society where political correctness is reaching new, dizzying heights, it's refreshing to read such down to earth philosophy and witticism as pertinent now as it was then. This short, easy read I highly recommend to anyone. You'll find many hidden treasures in the 127 pages, and trust me, it's not what you think.....

A tip of the cap to Carl Japikse, especially for the closing chapter "The Dream", told very much in the stylings of The Book of Revelations.

Perhaps one reason this is such an appealing book is because the author who appears on the title page was an old fart like me. Do I think our esteemed forefather Ben Franklin really wrote this? Who knows? Mor important, who cares? If you live long enough you find one of the few benefits of being old is you are excused for saying (writing) whatever you want. Whoever wrote this little book is immaterial, what counts is it is a good read.

A previous reviewer apparently thought the author's name to be a nom de plume, and accused a modern comic of writing it. The comic claimed it was hot his. Again, who cares? We aren't talking about a state document or discourse on government.

You don't like the revered Ben Franklin? Don't worry; he wouldn't. If Franklin were alive today would he replace Jay Leno on TV? I doubt it. You can imagine why. Is this book worth the money? It depends how important humor is to you. Personally I say yes. Good reading.

If you can get past the 18th century language, you'll thoroughly enjoy the dry wit of Benjamin Franklin, who published a lot of things under pen names. Ben Franklin was a brilliant statesman and an even more brilliant wit. If he had been alive today, I feel certain that he would have a talk show, replacing Jay Leno, and killing him in the ratings.

You've probably never read anything from Franklin like this before. Read it now, and you'll figure out why they liked him so much in France! (Keep in mind, however, that the French also like Jerry Lewis.)

This book is simply just a lot of fun. Deflates the idea of historical personnages being grim faced people.

When I read this book several years ago, I found myself laughing out loud, so I wrote Dave Barry and asked him if he had ghost-written this book. (The author's name also sounded bogus). I told him that the only time I ever found myself laughing out loud when reading was when I was reading his column. To my surprise, he wrote back and told me that George Will (another of my favorites) had actually written the book.

Brilliant! A master piece! Picasso, Freud, Plato, Ceasar, and yes......Japikse. A true intellectual thinker who conveys his topic through enlightening literature. This work will garner awards from various organiztions, and without a doubt earn a Pulitzer. If you are one of the elite who truly enjoys "blowing out a stinky" you will love this book.

An good collection of some of Ben's works. But the author uses this as a cover for hiw own political diatribe in the last chapter. There are other, better books that give a more complete look a Ben's life. Try them first.