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Summary: Well written ...
Review: This is generally a well written and very readable book. It seems to be exhaustively researched, and sometime the detail becomse a bit exhausting. However, the subject and his times were fascinating enough to get this reader through the whole book...
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Summary: A definitive book about one of the great men of all time.
Review: Franklin's many and varied accomplishments are all told here in conversational language. The book moves ahead in a most interesting manner. There are no humdrum, boring passages here. It tells of Franklin's itch to go to sea as a boy and his dissatisfaction with his apprenticeship as a printer in his hometown of Boston. To be more independent, he left for Philadelphia at an early age and became one of the premier printers of that city. His scientific accomplishments and his well known career as a patriot, and statesman are told in a way that keeps one interested in reading more. I think that few men have reached Franklin's level of varied accomplishments. He was the first person to begin understanding and mapping the Gulf Stream, one of the most successful pioneers in understanding the nature of electricity, the inventor of the lightning rod and many other such achievements. His political and civic endeavors started with forming the first Fire Dept., establishing forts, starting cultural clubs and his well known involvement with the forming of the United States as an independent country. His career as a statesman was such that, on his passing, he was severely mourned by two continents. Along with all this, Franklin's fine tuned wit and sense of humor are well shown. This is a thoroughly researched and well written book. It seems to me a tour de force as a biography of one of the most interesting men of all time.
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Summary: Discover the true Benjamin Franklin
Review: H.W. Brands mixes the well-known mainstream history of Benjamin Franklin with his unique blend of facts and the outcome is sensational. Brands presents us with a realistic portrait of Franklin. Yes, there are flaws in this great American. Nevertheless, one cannot help but put this book down and come away with tremendous admiration for one of our most important founding fathers. Franklin's social strata in Europe is impressive. But the outstanding quality of this very special book is the pivotal role Franklin played in the birth of a nation.
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Summary: Required reading
Review: This book was a real eye-opener for me. I knew America was great but after reading it I had a whole new appreciation for our country. I think it should be required reading for all high school students and even for everyone seeking citizenship here. Ben Franklin was such a valuable person and I now admire him greatly but that is not all I came away with.
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Summary: Readable and Entertaining
Review: Not that Ben Franklin needed much assistance from H.W. Brands to be an enjoyable read, but Brands does a marvelous job engaging the reader with his observations. I appreciate the lack of conjecture and the respect for the reader as he allows us to look at the circumstances and surrounding events without making too many suppositions and allowing us to understand what can't be known for certain. I hope that this book develops a following, as it is well deserved and certainly a life every American should know about.
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Summary: The First (and Foremost) American
Review: What makes Franklin's life most outstanding is his unique position as practically the only man of his generation to forge the direction of our new nation. As a statesman, Franklin's views evolved as the emerging American state did. His ability to build consensus and ignore criticism, his forward-thinking, and his inalterable dedication to the cause arguably contributed more than other American to what became the United States. But that was a small part of Franklin's contribution to posterity. As scientist, philosopher, author, businessman and neighbor, he brought forth numerous inventions and ideas that remain in practice in some form today. Brands portrait of Franklin's life is emminently readable, which is important for a book of such length. His research is detailed and his writing unbiased. What you will take away from this book is extreme admiration for a man who can be placed at the head of the line of great Americans.
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Summary: Top notch.
Review: Mr. Brands has told the tale of Benjamin Franklin and told it well. One would think that if you take into account the life that Franklin lived the story would be hard to make a mess of. However this is without a doubt the best Franklin biography I have come into contact with. Brands takes his readers on many trips along with Franklin from his escape from his native Boston, where a free thinker like Franklin was somewhat out of place, to his trips to Europe. Although it may be Franklin's own letters that give much of the life to this work, Brands has taken great pains to do his research. One can look in this book and find the Franklin with a heart of gold and the Franklin who exibited great affection for his wife and children. Parts of Franklin that are often ignored. This book is a must read if one has read David McCullough's "John Adams". Mr. Brands writing style is not quite as good as McCullough's but he also seems less inclined to the subject worship that one finds in McCullough's books. By reading this book along with the Adams book the reader will get a well rounded look at Franklin and Adams time in Paris. Franklin may not have worked as hard as Adams but he knew what he was doing and despite, almost as much as because of Adams, France came into the war. There seems to be very few things that Franklin tried that he was not good at. The only real problem I have with this book is Mr. Brands' continued use of quotes in a foreign language. That is all well and good if there is a translation for those of us who do not read French or Latin but if you can't handle several languages you will sometimes have trouble picking up what Franklin means to say. Still, this is a top notch book and should be read by anyone with an interest in American history.
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Summary: "Stunning" is an understatement
Review: This is the first book I have read by Brands. But it won't be the last. For anyone who loves biographies (historical or otherwise), American colonial history, the American Revolution, or - like me - just wanted to learn something about this multi-faceted founding father, "The First American" is a must read. Instead of recounting the details of the book, let me try to describe what makes it so different - and why I think it is one of the best biographies I have ever read. Simply put, Brands' power of narration and storytelling put you so close to the action, you never feel more than an arm's length away from Franklin and the world he lived in. This book is like taking a time machine to Colonial America - Boston, Philadelphia - and experiencing the events that led to the birth of the United States. So many good biographies are written in a style that fails to make you want to turn the pages. "The First American," however, is a fine blend of biography, social, and political history. Brands writing draws like a magnet. I actually found myself liking Franklin - and wanting to find out what happens next, much like reading David Copperfield or Great Expectations. I highly recommend this wonderful book. Even though it is over 700 pages, it is a very easy, enjoyable read that will give you a rare glimpse into the life of a true genius.
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Summary: Poor Richard Writ Large
Review: Brands did a great job on his Teddy Roosevelt biography, so I picked this up with great expectations, but also with a sense of reservation--wondering if he could crack in anything like the way he did T.R. Franklin being more remote historically, and most other Franklin bios being kind of childish, or over-glossified. Brands does not disappoint. Probably because Franklin does not. Only occasionally does Brands over-indulge in his writing (example: he is painting a word image of Boston Harbor, and how young Ben would see ships being launched out of drydock, and he acutally uses the word "frisson" to describe the water foaming away as the keel rolls down into the waves...). But mainly Franklin carries the story. Brands makes a convincing argument that other than George Washington, Franklin was the most important man in our revolution. He's probably right. He was certainly the most colorful. Brands includes at the end a letter from George Washington paying respects to the dying Franklin, to draw the parallel explicitly. We also get a look at the tortured relationship between Franklin and his son, who stayed loyal to England, and a sense of how Franklin fought to craft his public personality at the same time he was accurately feeling the stings of some very shabby treatment from all kinds of people. The habit he develops of being as elliptical, complementary, and non-judgemntal as possible probably also accounts for his success at selling papers and almanacs. The humiliation of Franklin by the attorne for the House of Lords in London, as Franklin attempted to discuss problems with the way the Pitts were administering proprietary Pennsylvania is described in riveting detail, and Brands has me convinced that this was a turning point for Franklin, converting him into no longer a Briton, but an American. Brands also explores Franklin's marriage, and the center of gravity it gave him, even if he orbited it distantly for long periods of time. There's a lot here, including the actual gravestone Franklin ended up with, the fact that the Philadelphia convention rejected opening with prayers, and a nice tie in with David McCullough's rendition of Adams and Franklin sharing a bed above a tavern, discussing the relative merits of keeping the window open or closing it, as they lay sharing a blanket. This book ends up being absorbed, as well as read.
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Summary: What a ride!
Review: Ben Franklins life was incredible. What he was able to accomplish in his 82 years was astounding. This book focuses on his life, instead of his legacy. You learn about Franklin the printer, Franklin the Briton, and Franklin the not-so-great family man. Most of all, you finish the book feeling like you were a personal friend of his. I am no book critic, but I think Brands did a nice job of putting this book together. But the content..... Any well-thought out book on Ben Franklin is going to be fascinating, as this was. In some ways, being a Franklin biographer is easy because his life was so colorful and full.
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