Product Description

Famous as a scientist, statesman, philosopher, businessman, and civic leader, Benjamin Franklin was also one of the most powerful and controversial American writers of his time, and has been a subject of intense debate ever since: to Matthew Arnold, he exemplified "victorious good sense"; to D.H. Lawrence, he was "the first dummy American." Franklin's classic Autobiography is his last word on his greatest literary creation -- his own invented persona, the original incarnation of the American success story.

For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome and durable paperback books. A distinguished author has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a detailed chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the choice of the text, and notes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1232790 in Books
• Published on: 1964-09-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From AudioFile
In the face of recent revisionist efforts to demean Franklin, it's well to return to the most renowned of the Franklin biographies and winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize. There's nothing extraordinary about the narration. Reader Patrick Cullen proceeds with clear enunciation at a steady pace, injects slight emotion in the few places where appropriate and generally delivers as straightforward a reading as one can expect. One never expects histrionics in a text such as this, and one is not disappointed here. The text itself is enriching and the presentation perfectly adequate. D.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

LA Times
"The acting is superb."

Dick Richmond, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 19, 1997
"This well-known work by one of our nation's founding fathers was certainly given to the right individual to narrate. Fredd Wayne, whose one-man show, "Benjamin Franklin, Citizen," has also been recorded by Audio Editions, seems to have captured Franklin's persona."

Customer Reviews

an important work - should be read by all young men
I have read this book myself at least twice. This book was purchased as a graduation present for a nephew. I wish someone had made me read this book at the age of 13. Franklin is quite the character. There are a lot of controversies surrounding his life, but for the purpose of instruction, I prefer to quit the debating society. This fellow is the first native born genius of record produced in this country. He may have painted a rosy picture of his life, but any of us would in an autobiography. If you want a critical examination of his life, check out some of the excellent athoritive biographies available. If you want inspiration, read this. Most inspiring are the roles that thrift and hard work played in his success and his practical approach to striving for "moral perfection".

Non-Fiction
This says Norton Critical Edition, so, of course, designed for academic study.

A man that of course did a whole pile of stuff and came up with a whole pile more.

Entertaining at times, and lecturing at others, as you might expect from someone that had been in a privileged position.

shallow account of a great life.
no doubt about it: ben franklin was a bright fellow. brigher than me, for instance. his autobiography, however, and despite what people on amazon are saying, is a shallow piece of fluff. nothing is touched in depth as he skims from one episode to the next like he is racing to finish an unimportant task. his wife? his family? forget them. all people in his life, in fact, seem deserving of no deep consideration to mr franklin. at times he brags about himself under the guise of modesty, and it is both silly and annoying. plenty of excellent biograhy work out there on this man, and one would be much better served to pick up one of those. it simply boggles my mind that anyone could consider this a 5 star piece of literature. there is not the slightest bit of passion in this writing. mr franklin doesn't even seem terribly interested in what he is writing about. amazon reveiwers seem to award 5 stars to almost anything they read, without the slightest trace of critical detachment. yes, this is a book you would not be wasting your time reading, simply because these are the words of benjamin franklin, but that's it. this is not great literature. not even close.