Benjamin Franklin (Yale Nota Bene) (Paperback)

by Professor Edmund S. Morgan (Author)
Key Phrases: colonial union, external taxes, colonial rights, United States, Stamp Act, Pennsylvania Assembly (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This wonderful biography of an extraordinary man results from a perfect marriage of subject and scholar. Among the most senior of our senior historians, Yale professor emeritus Morgan (American Slavery, American Freedom, etc.) proves himself still at the height of his powers. While Franklin remains, as Morgan writes, elusive and hard to know because "it is so hard to distinguish his natural impulses from his principles," the author probably comes as close to understanding him as anyone can. Rather than focusing on Franklin's role as classic, representative American, Morgan instead gives us a portrait of his public life, almost a third of it spent abroad, in England and France, more than any comparable figure of his generation. In Morgan's hands, Franklin therefore turns out to be more cosmopolitan than provincial, more worldly than Pennsylvanian. He also shines in this biography as someone deeply committed to his fellow Americans and the nation they were creating. Many previous biographers have sought to explain how Franklin helped lay the foundations for a distinctive American mind and personality. Morgan instead takes us more into Franklin's thinking and activities as diplomat and politician and into the way his winning personality served his country so well at the moment it needed him. While suitably critical when Franklin deserves criticism, Morgan's bravura performance is nevertheless a buoyant appreciation of a man whose fame as aphorist in Poor Richard's Almanack and as the scientist who helped discover electricity have often obscured his devotion to the public good. It's hard to imagine a better life study of a man we've all heard about but who is barely known. 20 illus.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Through the simple admission that this biography is meant primarily to introduce Franklin to the general reading public, Morgan avoids the biographer's dilemma of choosing between a narrative focus or presenting a comprehensive history of a subject. He begins with an overview that seeks to educe Franklin's character through an examination of the principles and ideas of this early American Renaissance man as expressed across the board in the various parts of his life. Yet, it is not Franklin the Renaissance man, but rather Franklin the Founding Father of whom Morgan is writing, arguing persuasively that this was the role to which the statesman was most devoted. In telling this story, the author creates a vivid narrative, an adventure story of sorts, which grabs readers with the tale of his subject's part in the political developments of 18th-century America. Yet, the author never loses sight of the importance of the other aspects of the man's personality and the thoughts and actions of others toward him. This is the key to this biography's success: it engages readers' interest in the great drama of this fascinating man's life. Teens may well begin here, and have material enough, but this fascinating introduction could entice them to look further.
Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300101627
• ISBN-13: 978-0300101621
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,481 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to Benjamin Franklin, December 11, 2002

By	Robert Adler "science writer & author" (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Benjamin Franklin (Hardcover)

I have to confess to being almost totally ignorant about Benjamin Franklin, the subject of this lovely book by Edmund Morgan. My knowledge of Franklin stopped with the basics--trained as a printer in colonial Boston, made his way to Philadelphia while still very young, published Poor Richard's Almanac, proved that lighting was electrical, represented the American colonies in England and newly independent America in France.

In slightly more than 300 elegantly written pages, Yale historian Morgan transformed this skeleton into a living, breathing man. Although Morgan based this brief history on a wealth of source documents, he tells Franklin's story effortlessly. I felt as though I had taken a long walk with a very interesting companion, and come away with a whole new understanding of a great and complex figure.

Morgan devotes most of the book to detailing Franklin's central role in the long series of calculations and miscalculations that pushed thirteen loyal and tractable British colonies into revolution and forged them into the United States of America. Franklin, we learn, was there at every step, usually behind the scenes, but always extremely influential, a potent catalyst to change.

It's as fascinating to follow the evolution of Franklin's own thoughts and feelings about the British Empire and the future of America as it is to get to catch a replay of the fateful steps in Britain and the colonies that led to the American revolution. I wish that America were blessed with more statesmen like Franklin; we could certainly use someone like him right now.

Just one caveat--Franklin's scientific accomplishments are mentioned, but really as a side issue. In this, Morgan seems to be following Franklin's own lead; we learn that he viewed the scientific accomplishments that won him universal acclaim as less important than his far-sighted, patient, sometimes personally costly contributions as a politician and statesman.

It's hard to imagine a more readable, edifying or enjoyable introduction to Benjamin Franklin.

Robert Adler
Author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley, 2002).

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great expose on our most interesting Founding Father., October 13, 2002

By	R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Benjamin Franklin (Hardcover)

Being a Ben Franklin afficionado of sorts and one who enjoys a good biography, I became quite intrigued to learn that Edmund S. Morgan was weighing in with his largess and vaunted knowledge of Franklin. Mr. Morgan, at 86 years of age, still embodies the somewhat sterotypical historian yet has extinguished himself as a gifted biographer. A Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale (he retired from full-time teaching in '86), Mr. Morgan has written more than a dozen books covering various topics and spectrums. His books have been hailed as "groundbreaking" and have won award after award. In 2000, Mr. Morgan was awarded the National Humanities Medal and cited as "one of America's most distinguished historians." If Mr. Morgan's imposing reputation isn't enough, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN has already become the source material for an online history course offered by AllLearn, the triumvirate consortium for continuing education established by Yale, Stanford and Oxford Universities. And, heaping more critical praise, this book has already been named a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and an alternate selection of the History Book Club.

As Mr. Morgan has been fond of saying, "History can be boring." Consequently, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN not only educates, but I found it entertaining as well, a claim many biographies would loved to be tagged with. Mr. Morgan extolls Franklin's intellectual gifts as well as his place in history. Thus, the reader learns a bit more about the man, Ben Franklin, than just his deeds.

Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston although he soon made his way to Philadelphia, where he began his assent into historic laurel. Franklin's public career was nothing less than extraordinary. An author, scientist, politician, diplomat and inventor, he was a member of the 2nd Continental Congress and was instrumental in the creation and writing of the Declaration of Independence. His achievements were innumerable, from founding one of the country's first volunteer fire companies to his infamous discovery of electricity, a discovery founded on the "kite" legend.

Although an incredible man, Morgan goes to great lengths to ensure that the reader understands Franklin's complicated relationship with England and, at times, poor politics. An ardent proponent of Mother England, his attachment to the country became extremely complex in the winter of his life and caused his stellar reputation to be somewhat tarnished. Hardline American statesmen reminded anyone who would listen that Franklin openly described himself as "an Englishman living in America."

It is obvious that Mr. Morgan genuinely appreciates Franklin, his mind and accomplishments. "Intellectual curiosity is one of the rarest gifts and ... he was just loaded with curiosity. He never took things for granted," Morgan says. "He is the most modern of all the Founding Fathers, the oldest in years but the youngest in outlook. He takes you by surprise."

Mr. Morgan's research for this offering was somewhat unorthodox by today's standards. He indicates that he did not read a biography on Franklin, rather he became enthralled by the existence of Franklin's complete papers on CD-ROM. The Packard Humanities Institute created the CD, which, Morgan says, compelled him to write the book.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN is a remarkably "easy" read and one that is quite enjoyable. If I had one gripe, it is Mr. Morgan's depiction of Franklin's personal psyche or, should I say, lack of depiction. In many cases, biographers inundate a reader with a litany of personal information, which, at times, saturates the biography with distracting ideosyncratic nuances. In BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, I believe there was too little description of Franklin's personal life and private persona. This doesn't denigrate the book as a whole, rather it leaves the reader with a "hole" in the inquisitive understanding of Franklin.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in learning more about our Founding Fathers and an incredible man.

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Benjamin Franklin, August 27, 2002

By	paul kelly (Westminster, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Benjamin Franklin (Hardcover)

Another superb book from Edmund Morgan. While there are other bios of Franklin on the market at twice the size, Professor Morgan's concise treatment of the man's life tells a story in the best sense of that word. You learn about Franklin & come to understand this complicated man as best we can. While there are dozens of major events going on during his lifetime, Morgan mentions them but doesn't waste the reader's time going into unncessary detail. Those are best left for other books.

Morgan's always been known for the quality of his writing and making history come alive with passion and pathos. An even greater skill of the author is being able to write concisely; each word counts for something.

Anyone interested in learning about the great man, Dr. Franklin, should read Morgan's book and become captivated by the man, the story, and the unique character of our remarkable country.