From Webster's Bookstore Cafe, online booksellers since 1995.
It's a little presumptuous to write a "review" of a book as historically
important as this, so I'll just give a few reasons why you should read
it.
It's well-written and engaging, even 200+ (nearing 300+; Franklin was born in 1706) years later. It stops in 1760, well before his involvement with the Revolution, but it covers in detail his youth, apprenticeships, the formation of his philosophy and ideals, and his path from poor roots to business and social success -- the first telling of the American Dream, the idea that a poor young man could Find His Fortune in the New World through enterprise, wisdom, and work.
There is a high degree of self-hagiography here, and it would be amusing to tally up (for example) how many times Franklin praises himself vs. how many times he advises on the virtue of humility. He smooths over issues like his illegitimate son, he doesn't mention his membership in the Freemasons, etc. The construction is also a bit rambling ("Then I did this thing. Next, I did another thing. Then I did a third thing"), but Franklin simply did so many interesting things -- even in this short slice of his life -- that the book is interesting despite that. There's a great deal of discussion on his scientific and inventive accomplishments, and he talks at length about his development of his own personal moral code and how he achieved business success (along with Franklin's Personal Method You Can Use for Self-Improvement -- in some ways, this is the first self-help book!)
All in all, this is very much worth reading, and gives a compelling picture of Franklin's life and times. I particularly liked the picture Franklin draws of contemporary American society -- free, open, and small, with most people in most towns all knowing each other, and business opportunities are wide open for anyone with industry and pluck. I'm not sure how similar modern-day America still is to Franklin's Philadelphia, but it's certain that Franklin -- and this book -- helped set the image that we still *want* to believe America conforms to. And for that alone, it's worth reading.
If you like this book, you might also be interested in reading Alexis de Tocqueville's _Democracy in America_, for another view of colonial-era America, or any of Mark Twain's nonfiction (_Life on the Mississippi_, _Roughing It_, etc.), for similar accounts of America's growth and development a hundred-odd years further on. Any of those should be available as a free Kindle download.
It's well-written and engaging, even 200+ (nearing 300+; Franklin was born in 1706) years later. It stops in 1760, well before his involvement with the Revolution, but it covers in detail his youth, apprenticeships, the formation of his philosophy and ideals, and his path from poor roots to business and social success -- the first telling of the American Dream, the idea that a poor young man could Find His Fortune in the New World through enterprise, wisdom, and work.
There is a high degree of self-hagiography here, and it would be amusing to tally up (for example) how many times Franklin praises himself vs. how many times he advises on the virtue of humility. He smooths over issues like his illegitimate son, he doesn't mention his membership in the Freemasons, etc. The construction is also a bit rambling ("Then I did this thing. Next, I did another thing. Then I did a third thing"), but Franklin simply did so many interesting things -- even in this short slice of his life -- that the book is interesting despite that. There's a great deal of discussion on his scientific and inventive accomplishments, and he talks at length about his development of his own personal moral code and how he achieved business success (along with Franklin's Personal Method You Can Use for Self-Improvement -- in some ways, this is the first self-help book!)
All in all, this is very much worth reading, and gives a compelling picture of Franklin's life and times. I particularly liked the picture Franklin draws of contemporary American society -- free, open, and small, with most people in most towns all knowing each other, and business opportunities are wide open for anyone with industry and pluck. I'm not sure how similar modern-day America still is to Franklin's Philadelphia, but it's certain that Franklin -- and this book -- helped set the image that we still *want* to believe America conforms to. And for that alone, it's worth reading.
If you like this book, you might also be interested in reading Alexis de Tocqueville's _Democracy in America_, for another view of colonial-era America, or any of Mark Twain's nonfiction (_Life on the Mississippi_, _Roughing It_, etc.), for similar accounts of America's growth and development a hundred-odd years further on. Any of those should be available as a free Kindle download.
By
T. Simons (Columbia, SC United States)
Franklin wrote this autobiography as a letter of instruction in the ways
of the world to his youthful and illegitimate son of 40. It only
covers the first half or so of his incredible life, so the things that
really made him well-known are not covered, but there is plenty here
anyway.
Franklin recounts his family's modest life in England and the
circumstances that brought them to Boston. He was among the youngest of
a very large family, ultimately finding his way to Philadelphia to find
work as a printer when an apprenticeship with an older brother turned
sour.
We always think of Franklin as being a slightly older
statesman among the Founding Fathers, when in fact he was a full
generation older than Washington or Jefferson. Unlike popular
perception, he was an athletic and vibrant youth, who rescued a drowning
Dutch companion and taught swimming to children of London's elite.
Philadelphia
in the 1720's and 1730's was a small town, never sure if it would
really take off as a settlement. Franklin quickly befriended key
politicians who felt Philadelphia had grown sufficiently to have a
world-class print shop. He played a key role in the town's development,
leading civic groups in establishing libraries, fire companies, meeting
halls, and street cleaning services. Of course, he was also the
consummate politician, serving in office, and networking his way to his
first fortune by publishing government documents and printing the first
paper currency. He also had a knack for working with the several
important religious sects of that time and place, especially the
pacifist Quakers, even though Franklin was a deist.
Franklin was a
clever businessman. In today's lexicon, he effectively franchised
across the colonies his concept of the publisher/printer who would
provide both the content and the ink on paper. By age 30, he had set up
his business affairs so that his printing businesses in several
colonies were operated by partners and he received a share of the
profits, allowing him to pursue other interests.
The
autobiography is unfinished, so we don't hear his account of his
pursuits of electricity, which made him as famous and well-known as Bill
Gates is today, nor his thought on the Revolution. Franklin did play a
key role in establishing logistical support to the British during their
fight with the French in the New World. At that time and during his
years in Europe, he was generally perceived as a Tory supporter.
Read
this book to learn how Franklin devoted himself to self-improvement by
establishing clubs, lending libraries, a sober lifestyle allowing time
for study, and his methods for measuring his personal performance
against metrics he had established for a proper lifestyle. One will also
gather a new appreciation for the fullness, utility, and richness of
the English language when put on paper by a master.
By
john purcell "johneric99" (Purcellville, VA USA)
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