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Audio CD Description Benjamin Franklin, writes journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, was that rare Founding Father who would sooner wink at a passer-by than sit still for a formal portrait. What's more, Isaacson relates in this fluent and entertaining biography, the revolutionary leader represents a political tradition that has been all but forgotten today, one that prizes pragmatism over moralism, religious tolerance over fundamentalist rigidity, and social mobility over class privilege. That broadly democratic sensibility allowed Franklin his contradictions, as Isaacson shows. Though a man of lofty principles, Franklin wasn't shy of using sex to sell the newspapers he edited and published; though far from frivolous, he liked his toys and his mortal pleasures; and though he sometimes gave off a simpleton image, he was a shrewd and even crafty politician. Isaacson doesn't shy from enumerating Franklin’s occasional peccadilloes and shortcomings, in keeping with the iconoclastic nature of our time--none of which, however, stops him from considering Benjamin Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age," and one of the most admirable of any era. And here’s one bit of proof: as a young man, Ben Franklin regularly went without food in order to buy books. His example, as always, is a good one--and this is just the book to buy with the proceeds from the grocery budget. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews Captivating Mr. Isaacson's love for our founding history, and Benjamin Franklin come out in the book. The book is engaging, interesting, informational, and a pleasant read. The writing and research are not on the level of Ron Chernow's masterpiece "Alexander Hamilton," but it is written with a love of the topic. The section on Benjamin Franklin's time in Paris is very good. The only criticisms I have are 1) some juxtaposed editorializing is slightly jarring, 2) he seems to go out of his way to push the message that Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and wouldn't approve of the Christian right's meddling today. At least that is how I interpreted it. He is probably correct, but there is no need to nail it home so much. All and all, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about the great founding fathers. A great one-volume biography of our greatest founder Founding the United States of America was undeniably a team effort, but Walter Isaacson presents a compelling argument that no person was more instrumental in this monumental historical achievement than Benjamin Franklin. Isaacson does a superb job of not only documenting Franklin's direct contributions to various key events, but also describes how he influenced the thoughts and writings of other contemporaries, such as Thomases Paine and Jefferson. Through his writings, his accomplishments, and his life story, Ben Franklin has touched the lives of more people than has any other American. Isaacson's book will see to it that this continues to be true. Every American citizen who considers him/herself an educated person should study Ben Franklin, and Isaacson's book is a wonderful way for present day Americans to do so. Although Walter Isaacson's well-researched and extensively footnoted book is fairly lengthy, I found myself wanting to know more about many of the events in Franklin's life, especially his scientific accomplishments. Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine, at times settles for a Time-like summarized description, rather than a New Yorker-like unconstrained dissertation. Given Franklin's many accomplishments, this is (regretfully) necessary in order to prevent the book from expanding to multiple volumes. After all, as shown by some of the sources Isaacson cites, entire books have been written about months-long periods of Franklin's life, and academics at Yale are finishing up a 40 volume collection of Franklin's writings. All in all, Isaacson does an admirable job of presenting Franklin's life story in one volume. His writing is engaging, and his vocabulary and sentence structure are not at all too academic, which makes for a very pleasurable read. Over a long and mostly happy lifetime, Benjamin Franklin compiled an amazing list of accomplishments. He was a true Renaissance man, operating at the leading edge of a wide variety of endeavors. He was a skilled businessman, inventor, scientist, writer, founder of institutions, and politician / diplomat. Knowledge has advanced since Franklin's time, and the world is a more crowded and complicated place, so mankind will likely never again see the likes of a Benjamin Franklin. Walter Isaacson's book brings the 18th century Benjamin Franklin to life in the 21st, and for that we can be grateful. Fabulous Book I learned so much about Franklin from this book. I realized that he wasn't really the person I had imagined him, but interesting and brillant none the less. He absolutely seemed to think 24/7 and certainly didn't waste time on idle things. I homeschool and my children will read this book. And others like it about our founding fathers. So much better than a textbook, which we avoid!