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Benjamin Franklin An American Life Walter Isaacson Books

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Benjamin Franklin An American Life Walter Isaacson Books

This is a well written biography of an American original, Benjamin Franklin. Isaacson begins with some context (page 2): "He was, during his eighty-four-year-long life, America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical, though not most profound, political thinkers." The author goes on to say (page 2): ". . .the most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first publicist, he was, in his life and in his writings, consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity."

The book traces his life from start to finish. It does not hide the fact that he was a fairly poor "husband" and father, watching his own son become a Tory and essentially giving up on him as a consequence. It notes episodes where he may have gotten caught up in his own persona and image.

Nonetheless, he was an original and someone who contributed much to the development of an independent American nation. Part of this is his efforts to engage in self-improvement. A list of "virtues," portrayed on pages 89-90 illustrates. Here, he noted "with an endearing simplicity" key virtues to adhere to, such as temperance ("Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation"), silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, etc.

He was someone who did great work as a publisher, as an inventor and scientist, as a public servant. For instance, the book notes that he was a creator of the "matching grant," a way of making scarce dollars stretch further (page 148). As postmaster, appointed when the colonies were still under British rule, he institute a number of reforms, ending up cutting delivery time of the mail, creating home delivery of mail, and so on. And being entrepreneurial to the core, he also used this opportunity to advance other of his interests (providing jobs for friends, improving his publishing network, invigorating the American Philosophical Society, and making some money in the process).

He spent considerable time abroad, in London earlier and in Paris later, as a diplomat and representative of the colonies and later the United States. He was a player in the Continental Congress and was a member of the committee assigned to craft a Declaration of Independence. Very late in life, he served at the Constitutional Convention, although in declining health.

All in all, this is a book that depicts Franklin as a complex human being. As noted in the introductory paragraph of this review, he was aware of who he was, how people saw him, and he worked to maintain and develop that persona. And what a persona it was!

For someone wishing an accessible and highly readable biography of Franklin, this is an excellent choice.


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Benjamin Franklin An American Life Walter Isaacson Books Reviews

Benjamin Franklin was a complicated personality whose political views changed over time. Franklin used Greek Philosophy as stepping stones from which he derived his first views on politics, virtues, and moral pragmatism but he shaped and modified these views as he aged. It is probably impossible to capture the essence of Benjamin Franklin's nature but this biography does it as well as it can be done. Franklin was invaluable when it came to editing the Declaration of Independence and negotiating the post-war treaties with France and England which established the first 13 colonies as an independent nation. Franklin preached tolerance and patience to the delegates as they argued about the creation of a representative form of government for the colonies. Concise and impartial this biography credits the imaginative Benjamin Franklin with having a significant influence on American culture and politics.
This is the third copy of this book I have purchased, having given away my other two, that how much I love it. Isaacson wrote an excellent biography of Franklin, one that I've reread a few times. I know the expression"like you were there" is overused but this book actually makes you feel you knew the real Franklin. I've been reading a lot about the younger Franklin recently, his time as an apprentice to his brother James, a printer, his self-education, his escape to Philadelphia, but this book presents the complete Franklin in a way thats reachable. Its not complicated reading, its an exciting story that makes you totally familiar with the man, warts and all.
Other people have covered the details of the book well, so I will compare it to other popular biographies about the Founding​ Fathers written recently to give the reader an idea of what to expect. The trend in biographies lately seems to be elegant and almost novelistic prose. This book is written in a very different style simple but not simplistic, accessible but not unintelligent. An unusual aspect is that rather than let one subject flow into another, the chapters are further separated into subheadings (e.g. "The American Philosophical Society", "Supplying General Braddock").

The author previously wrote a biography of Steve Jobs, and clearly has an interest in business. Much time is spent on Franklin's early years as a businessman, which I did not find as interesting as his politics. Much time is spent on British colonial economic policy, which I did find very interesting and informative. Additionally, it helped explain why the Tea Partiers were so violently opposed to the taxes and duties. The British government had enacted many policies to keep the colonies economically dependent on the mother country, such as outlawing ironworks in the colonies and suppressing manufacturing. I've read quite a few books about the Revolution and this was the most unexpectedly edifying on the motivations of the rebels in that aspect. This book justifies it's price on that subject alone. (Those uncomfortable with economics should know it was explained clearly enough that I could understand it well, despite having never taken an economics course.)

Additionally, Franklin finally gets his due as a world-class scientist in this biography. As a scientist myself, I wish more had gone into the process of his many discoveries, but it seems likely that there just wasn't enough source material to expand.

A note of criticism in terms of psychological insight, the book leaves you a little bit wanting. His personal relationships with both men and women are notably detached and a little cold, but no real explanation is given for why this should be so for such an extroverted and warm man. The book quotes the opinion of other commentarors, such as conservative columnist David Brooks, quite a few times on the nature of his political beliefs. I would have preferred the authors own interpretations.

The description of Franklin's transition from a peacemaker who finds himself the target of anger from American rebels for being too inclined to seek compromise- to one of the most passionate voices for independence is elegantly done. When I finished the book I felt like I had real understanding of Franklin as a person full of contractions. A man who loathed conflict but supported a revolution, who wrote The Way to Wealth but was an ardent champion of the common man, who was the darling of the French Court but disliked aristocracy... In other words, a real person, not a cardboard cutout.
This is a well written biography of an American original, Benjamin Franklin. Isaacson begins with some context (page 2) "He was, during his eighty-four-year-long life, America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical, though not most profound, political thinkers." The author goes on to say (page 2) ". . .the most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first publicist, he was, in his life and in his writings, consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity."

The book traces his life from start to finish. It does not hide the fact that he was a fairly poor "husband" and father, watching his own son become a Tory and essentially giving up on him as a consequence. It notes episodes where he may have gotten caught up in his own persona and image.

Nonetheless, he was an original and someone who contributed much to the development of an independent American nation. Part of this is his efforts to engage in self-improvement. A list of "virtues," portrayed on pages 89-90 illustrates. Here, he noted "with an endearing simplicity" key virtues to adhere to, such as temperance ("Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation"), silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, etc.

He was someone who did great work as a publisher, as an inventor and scientist, as a public servant. For instance, the book notes that he was a creator of the "matching grant," a way of making scarce dollars stretch further (page 148). As postmaster, appointed when the colonies were still under British rule, he institute a number of reforms, ending up cutting delivery time of the mail, creating home delivery of mail, and so on. And being entrepreneurial to the core, he also used this opportunity to advance other of his interests (providing jobs for friends, improving his publishing network, invigorating the American Philosophical Society, and making some money in the process).

He spent considerable time abroad, in London earlier and in Paris later, as a diplomat and representative of the colonies and later the United States. He was a player in the Continental Congress and was a member of the committee assigned to craft a Declaration of Independence. Very late in life, he served at the Constitutional Convention, although in declining health.

All in all, this is a book that depicts Franklin as a complex human being. As noted in the introductory paragraph of this review, he was aware of who he was, how people saw him, and he worked to maintain and develop that persona. And what a persona it was!

For someone wishing an accessible and highly readable biography of Franklin, this is an excellent choice.