Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

I am a fan of narrative nonfiction history, so I was a bit offset when I started reading Benjamin Franklin. It's not really a narrative biography, but by the end of the first page, I didn't care.

The book is well written by Walter Isaacson and it is about a fascinating man. I knew very little about Benjamin Franklin when I began this book. Not so now.

Isaacson looks at the many facets of the man's life--printer, author, politician, diplomat, revolutionary, inventor, scientist. Franklin was a man who defined his time and defined America, as can be seen by the fact that's he's the only American who signed all 4 crucial documents in America's founding.

Isaacson also looks at Franklin's faults and contradictions. Though Isaacson tries to figure out how they could exist in Franklin, he never quite manages to get inside Franklin's head.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable read. I came away with a new appreciation of Franklin.

Initially I imagined reading this book from time to time, knowing I would "eventually" complete it.

Well, I was wrong. Isaacson's book is so engaging and Franklin so remarkable that I wasn't able to stop reading until the 84-year-old Franklin had come to the end of his life. If school books could be so appealing (and more teachers as captivated by history as Isaacson is by Franklin) - then soon we'd have a land full of knowledgeable history lovers. It would do a nation good.

You also can learn more about Franklin's worldview on thinkwriter.blogspot.com. He was the right man at the right time in America's history. . . and I daresay readers will appreciate him on a whole new level after reading Isaacson's book. Enjoy - no matter how long it takes you!

In "Benjamin Franklin," Walter Isaacson manages to chronicle the life of Franklin in a thorough, well-analyzed fashion, while simultaneously allowing the reader to draw many of his own conclusions from the research presented in the book.

I was intrigued to read this book after reading David McCullough's "John Adams." It's certainly no secret that Adams and Franklin did not get along terribly well during the bulk of their interactions in Europe, and reading that book left me guessing that, in all likelihood, there was another side to the story.

While at times it seemed that McCullough could be somewhat heavy-handed in his judgment toward Franklin, I felt that Isaacson did a good job presenting the most likely facts of the case and allowing the reader to determine the most likely manner in which the pieces fit together. He did certainly tend to err on the more sympathetic side of controversies surrounding Franklin, and was probably to generous in his judgment of Franklin's thoroughly practical and emotionless approach toward religion.

One thing I appreciated about this book relative to most other colonial era biographies was the focus on the years prior to the revolution, which obviously encompassed the bulk of Franklin's life. Franklin's life leading up to the revolution seems to serve as a microcosm of the views of the colonies in the years between the French and Indian War and the Revolution.

All in all, I heartily recommend this book to anyone with an interest in colonial America and the founding fathers.

It is enlightening how the spectrum at which Benjamin Franklin's contributions to America can hardly be contained in one book. A glimpse into his common sense, wisdom, and morality are organized with precision and passion through Walter Isaacson's masterpiece. I now better understand Franklin's connection with other fathers of our country and have a deeper desire to learn about them as well.

Futhermore, I am impressed at the background of the author. His experience and education give me more respect for his work.

I read his Einstien book, and I enjoyed the way Mr. Issacason wrote.
I have not started this bood yet, but if he could make Einstein so interesting, I am sure he will do so for Benjamin Franklin.