A through summary of the Life and Times of Ben Franklin

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	• Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Walter Isaacson Simon & Schuster, 2004 - 608 pages average customer review:based on 201 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Consummate Lifelong Learner

Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003, New York: Simon & Shuster) provides a comprehensive yet engaging account of the life and times of the eminent Dr. Franklin. From humble beginnings in Colonial Boston to successful printer, public persona, and man of science in pre-Revolutionary Philadelphia to Revolutionary diplomat extraordinaire in the courts of England and France, Isaacson paints a lasting portrait of one of America's most celebrated founders. Franklin's pragmatic philosophy, civic spirit, boundless curiosity, and comfortable sociability are themes developed and interwoven throughout the book.
Pragmatism is introduced as Franklin's guiding principle, with Franklin nobly presented as the father of American middle class values:

Franklin's blend of beliefs would become part of the outlook of much of America's middle class: its faith in the virtues of hard work and frugality, its benevolent belief in voluntary associations to help others, its conservative opposition to handouts that led to laziness and dependency, and its slightly ambivalent resentment of unnecessary luxury, hereditary privileges, and an idle landowning leisure class. (p. 425).

Franklin's pragmatism is revealed in his writings - his Autobiography, his private letters, his letters to newspapers, and, perhaps most enduringly, in his still-famed Poor Richard's Almanac, where maxims on thrift and moderation abound: "make haste slowly," "necessity never made a good bargain," or "a penny saved is a twopence clear" (Isaacson, 2003, p. 99). Isaacson examines the development of Franklin's pragmatism and follows the doctor's faithful adherence to its creed, illustrating the lasting influence of the doctrine on Franklin's public and private behavior.
Franklin's civic spirit, which resulted in the establishment of a lending library, fire brigade, night watchmen corps, hospital, militia, and college (p. 102), proves another of Franklin's defining characteristics. Isaacson shows Franklin's civic mindedness to be rooted in his religious philosophy--a philosophy grounded in tolerance and good works (and perhaps a bit of pragmatism as well!): "The purpose of religion [according to Franklin] should be to make men better and to improve society; and any sect or creed that did so was fine with him" (p. 94).
The breadth and depth of Franklin's curiosity is underscored by his forays into scientific theory and the practical application thereof. Franklin not only discovered the nature of electricity but he "tamed it" with the invention of the lightning rod. Bifocals, batteries, air and water currents, stoves, street lights, typefaces, refrigeration, and catheters--Franklin investigated all manner of phenomena and invented all manner of apparatus throughout his 84 years.
Yet, despite Franklin's practicality, earnest do-good drive, and scientific mind, he was a gregarious man, at ease in a wide variety of settings and whose company was sought by young and old alike. In 1783, Franklin's 14 year-old grandson Benny wrote of his 77 year-old grandfather, "[He is] very different from other old persons...for they are fretful and complaining and dissatisfied, and my grandpapa is laughing and cheerful like a young person" (p. 418).
Isaacson's portrayal of Franklin is a lesson in lifelong learning and instruction. From his youth to his senior years, we watch Franklin ever working on improving himself, his community, and those around him. Franklin proves to be both a consummate self-directed learner and a tireless organizer and facilitator of adult learning and networking associations. We find him in the book's opening chapters teaching himself and then his playmates how to swim in the Boston's Mystic River. We watch as Franklin forms his Junto (or Leather Apron Club) - a group of "tradesmen and artisans" who "discussed issues of the day, debated philosophical topics, devised schemes for self-improvement, and formed a network for the furtherance of their own careers" (p. 55). As the senior statesman at the Constitutional Convention, we see Franklin facilitating the compromises necessary to "form a more perfect union."
Franklin's interest in self and community proves personally transformational as horizons open before him and opportunity often knocks at his door. Franklin's effect on others appears equally transformational as responsive government and expanded social services are introduced to Philadelphia. Ultimately, Franklin's pursuit of personal enrichment combined with his sense of social purpose affects the founding and the course of a new nation. Franklin provides a worthy model for adult learners and instructors alike.
Too, Franklin is testament to the power of the individual. Isaacson, in his closing remarks, writes, "[Franklin's] focus tended to be on how ordinary issues affect everyday lives, and on how ordinary people could build a better society" (p. 493). Franklin is not deterred by his lowly origins or his lack of formal education. Franklin is an example to all those who suffer personal setbacks or institutionalized injustice - a single person can initiate change and alter the status quo - both at a personal level and at a societal level.
Isaacson's biography of Benjamin Franklin is a lively albeit lengthy read. Isaacson writes for the layman; although the text is well-footnoted, the tone of the writing is neither academic nor pedantic. While the book is satisfying in and of itself, and can be read and enjoyed without exhaustive prior knowledge, additional and somewhat similar texts (in style, that is) which would enhance the reader's appreciation of both the life and times of Franklin include several other recent founding father biographies of merit, namely: The American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph Ellis and John Adams by David McCullough. Also, Franklin's very own Autobiography is eminently readable, providing a remarkable window into the personality and character of the man himself.
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life is a study in early America of a singular American who proves to be surprisingly modern and recognizable. This tale of the fallible but ever-thoughtful Franklin is inspirational to the end, and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the power of a proactive outlook and can-do attitude.

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Here is Ben Franklin the Pragmatist

I am interested in comparing the 5 best biographies of Benjamin Franklin that have been written (thus far) in the new millennia, emphasizing Isaacson's account.

THE BEST 5 BIOGRAPHIES ARE (in order of publication date)
Edmund S. Morgan's Benjamin Franklin (Yale Nota Bene S.)
H. W. Brands's The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Gordon S. Wood's The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
Jerry Weinberger's Benjamin Franklin Unmasked: On the Unity of His Moral, Religious, and Political Thought (American Political Thought)

The first 4 of these biographies are presented as in the typical historically (and chronologically) biographical approach. Isaacson's biography of Franklin presents the thesis that Franklin was more the pragmatist than the previous two historians acknowledged and the subsequent writers were willing to confirm.

There are 24 pictures in Morgan's book, no pictures in Brands's book, 32 pictures in Isaacson's book, 25 pictures in Wood's book, and no pictures in Weinberger's book.
I am not going to write about how great Franklin was or what he did (he was great and he did so much). I want to write primarily about how each of these authors portrays Franklin's character differently by highlighting different aspects of his life.

In London (1725) Franklin wrote "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain," which seemed to show that Franklin was a young radical Deist. Later, when the pamphlet was reprinted in Boston, Franklin became a social outcast of sorts and he wrote that he was "inclined to leave Boston" because people were calling him "an infidel or atheist." When Franklin fled Boston he was 17 years old. He later wrote about that pamphlet that "I began to suspect that this doctrine, though it might be true, was not very useful."
Later, after becoming rich from his printing presses, writings, and scientific discoveries, Franklin became a statesman, diplomat, Founding Father, and icon.
At the end of his life he wrote his "Autobiography," where Franklin said that he "never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity, that he made the world, and governed it by his Providence; that the most acceptable service to God was the doing of good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished and virtue rewarded either here or hereafter; these I esteemed the essentials of every religion".

Isaacson says, "Above all, Franklin's beliefs were driven by pragmatism" (pg. 87). Isaacson says that Franklin is the "founding father who winks at us" (pg. 2). But his wink shutters over a pragmatist's eye. Isaacson would focus on Franklin's clause, "that the most acceptable service to God was the doing of good to man." However, Morgan would say that "charity...was actually the guiding principle of Franklin's life" (Morgan, pg. 24). All the other biographers manifest lesser focused forms of Isaacson's thesis that Franklin "helped invent America's unique style of homespun humor and philosophical pragmatism" (pg. 2). Weinberger's Franklin is explicit rejection of the pragmatist-Franklin-thesis. Weinberger thinks that Franklin is purposely contradicting himself to play with his readers...to reveal a Franklin that would have possibly be called again an "infidel or atheist" if he had not cloaked his message.
Brands would agree with Weinberger and Isaacson by saying that Franklin was both a skeptic and a pragmatist, but Brands does not pursue that thesis that there is some interrelatedness to a skeptical-Franklin and a pragmatist-Franklin very far (only two pages actually; see Brands, 94-95). Isaacson focuses on the Franklin who, it's argued, helped found American pragmatism (see pg. 480 for most elaborate reference), Wood focuses on the political Franklin who had to be "Americanized" because Franklin too often wanted to be part of the old gentry class and this was evident in some of his politicking (in fact, Isaacson hoped that "detailed throughout this book" was Franklin as a " proud member of the middle class" which Isaacson argued against Wood's continuous - but less developed - thesis of Franklin in "The Radicalism of the American Revolution" see Isaacson, pg. 528 note 26) , Weinberger calls Franklin a "radical skeptic" and says he was a political "Baconian."

Isaacson's thesis, as mentioned earlier, is that Franklin's intellectual life is the development of a somewhat proto-pragmatism. Weinberger is Isaacson's most determined critic.

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Book review of Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin

As suggested by its title, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life portrays the life of one of America's greatest Founding Fathers, Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Walter Isaacson meticulously illustrates Franklin's academic, social, business, and personal affairs which played a role in shaping America. Benjamin Franklin is still regarded to this day, more than 300 years after his death, as one of the most impressive scientists, writers, and diplomats known to presence the earth. This biography depicts Franklin's flaws as well, making his story all the more believable.
Born in Boston in 1706, Franklin was raised by his hard-working English family. He was very academically inclined and read many books throughout his youth. He had little formal schooling and was self-educated for the most part. He became a published writer during his teenage years.
Benjamin Franklin apprenticed under his brother during his teenage years and initiated his lifelong career as a published writer. After a series of events including travel and self-reflection/improvement, he opened his own publishing company at the age of 22 and eventually became postmaster of the 13 colonies. Many of his maxims in Poor Richard's Almanac are still referred to today.
Much of Franklin's upbringing formed him into an industrious and frugal person. Not only was he a hard worker, but he also strived to do good for others, as he believed that was what God wanted. In that effort, he created many organizations to benefit the common man and always kept themes of equality, opportunity, and patriotism near and dear to his heart. He joined several men together to form the Junto, a businessmen's public service organization. Franklin understood the importance of education and believed it should not be a privilege only for the elite. He founded an academy that was the first nonsectarian college in American, which later became the University of Pennsylvania (Isaacson, 2003). He also established a library, hospital, and police force in Pennsylvania. A true believer in serving one's country and mankind, he did not patent his inventions, as he wanted them to be practical and beneficial.
During his career as a publicist, he raised his illegitimate son, William, and, although flirtatious with many women, married Deborah Read with whom he had another son (who died at age 4) and a daughter, Sally. Franklin was close to his children but had a major falling out with William later in life due to political conflict. In his 30's, William was appointed by Britain to be governor of New Jersey and became a loyalist. Franklin, who wanted independence for the colonies more than anything, never forgave him although he always remained close to William's illegitimate son, Temple, who Franklin helped raise.
Franklin's political career took place mostly during his retirement. He traveled extensively to England and France as a confederate diplomat. Like the smoothing effects of oil on turbulent water, with which Benjamin Franklin experimented, he skillfully smoothed underlying turmoil. Franklin played a large role, if not the largest, in negotiating independence for America and helped define its values that lie in the Constitution. He also effectively recruited the help of France in the quest. Isaacson mentions that Franklin is the only person who signed all four documents that established the government of America (the Declaration of Independence, the French/American treaty, the peace agreement with Britain, and the Constitution) (2003).
Throughout his life, Dr. Franklin accumulated many friends. His enemies, although strong, were few in number. He only seemed to grow wiser as he aged and used it to our country's benefit.
Franklin had many health problems during the last decade of his life. His death at the age of 84 came only a few years after he signed the Constitution. It was as if he held on to life until he accomplished his goals and our country was complete.
Expecting to skim over much of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, I instead found myself reading in grave detail every page and sometimes re-reading portions of it. I wish this book could have been available in my high school American History course. What this book lent to my understanding of the formation of the United States of America is incredible!

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A through summary of the Life and Times of Ben Franklin

This book offered an excellent look at life in colonial America through the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin was apart of two worlds for most of his life and bridged the gap in interesting ways. Whether it was the upper class of London or the print shops of the United States there were many looks at social situations in this time period. Franklin is extolled for his brilliance as an inventor and for his ingenuity in politics. His description as the wise sage of the continental congress provides a different perspective that is hard to get elsewhere. Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking at colonial America or the revolutionarily period. While it does not deal with the war it offers an excellent look at the peace process and other aspects that are hard to find in many books on the revolution.

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Excellent biography of Benj. Franklin

This biography of Benjamin Franklin succeeds in being both revealing and readable. The genius and "errata" of Benjamin are presented in a highly interesting, detailed and candid story. Although I had read his autobiography and other books on the American Revolution, this biography revealed even more of this remarkable man. Highly recommended to those interested in the "key stone" of America's Founding Fathers.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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