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Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and…
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Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings (Signet Classics) (edition 1961)

by Benjamin Franklin

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,428116,193 (3.94)2
Was fun to read what Franklin had to say not only about himself but about his beliefs and society as well; essential reading for any serious history student/buff ( )
  longhorndaniel | Jul 19, 2017 |
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This is a strange great book by an unusual man that lived in a storm of changes and actively contributed toward civil society, knowledge sharing and advancement. It is too difficult to capture all the nuance that makes Benjamin Franklin, and that his autobiography should be so straight and simple is a kind of magic.

One warning: he was also a product of his time, and his views on women, for example, can be jarring. ( )
  yates9 | Feb 28, 2024 |
I kinda think everybody should read this. But than, I am a big Franklin fan. ( )
  Kim.Sasso | Aug 27, 2023 |
What a character. I recommend following this work with a well-written biography, for example Walter Isaacson's, in order to gain deeper insight into the idiosyncrasies of Franklin the man and the ironies of Franklin the autobiographer. All in all, this is a beautiful glimpse of colonial Americanness, of what is often pejoratively called Protestant work ethic (on which so much of our culture and great literature are built), and of civic-minded virtue. ( )
  BeauxArts79 | Jul 20, 2023 |
Every American should read, and even non-Americans would profit. Of course, like all autobiographies, needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Not his life as it was, but as he would like others to see it, probably as he himself would like to see it as well. Yet it is the record of one of the great minds of the 18th-century, not only in the colonies, but in the world. Whimsy and moral precept interchange to make an entertaining read. ( )
  HenrySt123 | Jul 19, 2021 |
I don't know why but I get a real kick out of reading Ben Franklin. Not only are you getting opinions and observations straight from the horse's mouth when it comes to the 18th century, you're getting it from an oddly amusing and very pivotal figure in American history. What first appears quite stuffy is actually great entertainment... ( )
  booksandcats4ever | Jul 30, 2018 |
Was fun to read what Franklin had to say not only about himself but about his beliefs and society as well; essential reading for any serious history student/buff ( )
  longhorndaniel | Jul 19, 2017 |
This autobiography is written as a letter, once interrupted for a decade or more, to his son. As many people have pointed out during history, the author is inclined to only include the facts they want and from their point of view. A self-congratulatory tome, Benjamin Franklin has much for to be proud of himself. I enjoy his writing style and found this book to be interesting. ( )
  HistReader | Mar 7, 2012 |
What do you know of Benjamin Franklin? You are probably aware that he was a well known statesman, influential in America's founding. You are probably also aware of an experiment he did with a kite and a key. In fact, he is lucky he survived it!

He was born the fifteenth child of twenty. His father was married twice and had ten children born to each marriage. Benjamin was the youngest son of the family. He only had two years of formal education; most of his education was self imposed. At age twelve he was apprenticed to an older brother who owned a printing shop. His most famous pen-name, Silence Dogood, was created in an attempt to see his letters to his brother's newspaper published, for his brother would not allow him to write for the paper! He "became" Silence Dogood, a middle-aged widow, at the tender age of sixteen.

Some things you may not have known about him are that he was also: a writer; journalist; printer; publisher; philosopher; patriot and (oldest) signer of the Declaration of Independence; diplomat; arbiter; humorist, and quite a ladies' man. He was: a proponent for and one of the first to suggest the first true fire department whereof men would be assigned to a particular fire engine rather than goodwill and amateurs continuing to be the force with which fire was fought. Being an entrepreneur he also established the first fire insurance company! He proposed that the firefighters would practice and share information and that their skills at fighting fires would therefore improve. Franklin urged the licensing of chimney sweeps and proposed that homeowners should be required to keep leather fire-fighting buckets at their property. ( )
  BoundTogetherForGood | Apr 1, 2011 |
I personally think that this was one of the best books that I have ever read. I do not think that everyone will agree with me but I love Benjamin Franklin. He is by far my favorite character from the American Revolution! This was my second time reading this book and it was much better the second time. I think that it had a lot to do with me being older and being able to relate to the things that Mr.Franklin talks about such as virtue, temperance and other things along those lines that you really just do not start to understand until you have a few years under your belt lol. This edition was also really cool because it is not only the autobiography but also other selected writings from Ben Franklin. Some of these letters and other short writings were really good and only serve to help the reader get a better understanding of some of the points that Franklin was getting at in his autobiography. I would recommend this book to anyone with a appreciation for history! ( )
1 vote keegopatrick | May 17, 2010 |
an inspiration. the language style can be a hard read at times. ( )
1 vote eugenios | Sep 1, 2009 |
An interesting autobiography of an interesting man, though he did seem kind of arrogant. ( )
  Redthing | Mar 25, 2007 |
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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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