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Title: Benjamin Franklin : An American Life by Walter Isaacson ISBN: 0-684-80761-0 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.39 (85 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: I gave up
Comment: After reading "John Adams", I was all geared up to read another book about a major Founding Father. What a disappointment this book was!
Isaacson wrote a great biography on Kissinger. He also was a great magazine writer. Yet I had to give up on this book because it was such a bore. The writing style was too boring. Even though I was reading about some of the highly impressive things Franklin accomplished, I was bored to tears. Contrast that with the amazing prose and writing style of McCullough's biography on Adams. Even during some of the recounting of Franklin's adventures with women (who knew he got around so much in those supposedly virtuous days?), I was bored. Yet when I read "John Adams", McCullough could be describing the most minute details about Adams' shoes and I would be riveted to every word.
This book got lots of hype and publicity because of who the author is. Had it been Joe Schmoe who wrote such a boring book, it would be panned by its editors and never make its way to the bookstore.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Soul of America
Comment: Benjamin Franklin typified the soul or virtues that most of us Americans hold dear. He rose from being a poor boy to becoming wealthy and distinguished in many fields. He extolled the virtues of the middle class, merchants, and business people over the nobility and titled gentry of Europe. He courageously called for the independence of America when many people still wanted to retain a loyalty to Great Britain. Putting on another hat, he successfully negotiated with first France and than Britain during the Revolutionary War to gain America's independence. Franklin was a successful writer and printer, an inventor, a civic-minded citizen, and a statesman.
Walter Isaacson's book is successful in portraying the wide diversity of Franklin's efforts and achievements. He also delves into Franklin's personal life which included beliefs in Deism as opposed to traditional Christianity. Franklin fathered a child out of wedlock and Isaacson explains how despite this Franklin took responsibility for his actions and did his best to raise this son.
Nevertheless, Isaacson's book is not free from criticism. It is not as interesting or well written as other books about this same period of history. For example, "John Adams" by David McCullough is far more captivating. "American Sphinx" by Joe Ellis is another book that does a good job of keeping the attention of a novice reading about the founding fathers. Finally, "Thomas Jefferson: an Intimate History" by Fawn Brodie is another fascinating account of the men who made America. One gets the idea Isaacson is so determined to cram our heads with details that the book loses some of its allure.
Books like these remind us that the founding fathers were human beings with faults and not deities. Depending on how harsh a critic one is, one could argue Franklin had few friends because he was not loyal to them. One could contend he mistreated his wife leaving her for years by herself in America while he carried on in Great Britain arguing over various colonial issues. One could say he treated his son William, unduly harshly, because he chose to side with the British instead of those in America seeking independence. One could also argue Franklin was a poor team player as a diplomat and couldn't get along with either John Adams or Mr. Lee who were also appointed to negotiate with the French.
However, on the balance it is clear Franklin's virtues far outweighed his faults. This is an authoritative book about one of the most significant Americans who has ever lived.
Rating: 4
Summary: A good read about a fascinating man.
Comment: It took me several minutes and more than one false start before I began to write this review in earnest. My problem, it turns out, is that I lack a strong opinion of the book.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. In fact, I'd go so far as to use the word "fascinating" to describe it. But, after a moment's consideration, I think that owes more to the subject than the author's skill. I would argue that Ben Franklin is easily the most intriguing (in all meanings of the word) figure in the history of the Revolutionary War. And that fact makes it difficult, though sadly not impossible, to write a bad biography on the man.
Now, before you Isaacson fans start sharpening your spears, let me explain. I think this book is well written, and very well researched to be sure. But the author's style and prose are not what I found fascinating. Those were solid, but pedestrian, like a good beef stew. Satisfying? Yes. Filling? Yes. But not exactly a gourmet meal.
What fascinated me was Franklin's story itself, and Isaacson has done an excellent job researching the facts and weaving them into a biography rich in detail that I found to be a page turner.
Maybe this isn't Isaacson's best work, and maybe this isn't the definitive work on Franklin. Those are points I'm not qualified to address. What I can say is that if you're looking for a solidly written, thoroughly researched biography of Franklin from youth to old age that won't put you to sleep, "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" is your book.
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Title: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ISBN: 0385504209 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson ISBN: 0767908171 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by JON MEACHAM ISBN: 0375505008 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Seabiscuit: An American Legend by LAURA HILLENBRAND ISBN: 0449005615 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken ISBN: 0525947647 Publisher: E P Dutton Pub. Date: 29 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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