A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America

( 8 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Paperback (First Edition)
$13.59
BN.com price
$19.00 List Price (Save 28%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$1.12
$19.00 List Price (Save 94%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (40)  
Used (22)  
New (18)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 4
Showing 1 – 10 of 40 (4 pages)
$1.12
(Save 94%)
GICW Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(712)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Acceptable
Reading copy. May have damage to cover, notes, underlining, highlighting, but all text legible. May have tears to DJ or missing DJ. Purchasing this item helps us provide ... vocational opportunities to people with barriers to employment. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Hillsboro, OR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
Yankee Clipper Books
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(3923)

Condition: Good
Book shows a small amount of wear to cover and binding. Some pages show signs of use. Sail the Seas of Value

Ships from: Windsor, CT

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 90%)
Silver Arch Books
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1295)

Condition: Good
Book has a small amount of wear visible on the binding, cover, pages. Selection as wide as the Mississippi.

Ships from: St Louis, MO

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$2.24
(Save 88%)
Ukazoo Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(10413)

Condition: Good
Standard used condition.

Ships from: Baltimore, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$2.25
(Save 88%)
Open Books Ltd
Seller since 2011

Feedback rating:

(82)

Condition: Good
2006 Paperback Good Open Books is a Non-profit literacy organization and proceeds from the sale benefit literacy programs.

Ships from: Chicago, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.40
(Save 77%)
Extremely_Reliable
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(3184)

Condition: Acceptable
Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.

Ships from: Richmond, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$5.00
(Save 74%)
Books End NY
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(1408)

Condition: Very Good
2006 Trade paperback Very Good 0805080090. 1.1 x 8.2 x 5.5 Inches; 528 pages.

Ships from: Syracuse, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.00
(Save 68%)
Barnes & Noble Once-Read Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(275)

Condition: Very Good
0805080090 Minor external wear, a pencil price on the flyleaf, but otherwise internally clean and unmarked, with a tight binding. Not ex-library, not a remainder.

Ships from: Paramus, NJ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.76
(Save 64%)
invisibledog
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(3)

Condition: Very Good
0805080090 Clean and unmarked.

Ships from: Salt Lake City, UT

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$8.39
(Save 56%)
Diane Publishing Co. PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(202)

Condition: New
2006 Paperback Ships in 24 Hours: 100% Money Back Guarantee! New Book. Sucssesful business for 25 years. Carefully Packed!

Ships from: Darby, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 4
Showing 1 – 10 of 40 (4 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook - First Edition)
$9.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

All Available Formats + Editions

Marketplace From
BN.com
 

More About This Book

Overview

In this dazzling work of history, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author follows Benjamin Franklin to France for the crowning achievement of his career

In December of 1776 a small boat delivered an old man to France." So begins an enthralling narrative account of how Benjamin Franklin-seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French-convinced France, an absolute monarchy, to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.

When Franklin stepped onto French soil, he well understood he was embarking on the greatest gamble of his career. By virtue of fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues; engineered the Franco-American alliance of l778; and helped to negotiate the peace of l783. The eight-year French mission stands not only as Franklin's most vital service to his country but as the most revealing of the man.

In A Great Improvisation, Stacy Schiff draws from new and little-known sources to illuminate the least-explored part of Franklin's life. Here is an unfamiliar, unforgettable chapter of the Revolution, a rousing tale of American infighting, and the treacherous backroom dealings at Versailles that would propel George Washington from near decimation at Valley Forge to victory at Yorktown. From these pages emerge a particularly human and yet fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our country's bid for independence.

Editorial Reviews

Isabelle de Courtivron
Despite the undeniable impact on U.S.-French relations of two tumultuous centuries, A Great Improvisation reminds us that profound cultural differences between the two societies have not changed all that much -- and thus remain at the root of their conflicting visions of the world. Plus ça change . .
— The Washington Post.
Walter Isaacson
Franklin was an ideal choice for the mission, as Stacy Schiff shows in this meticulously researched and judicious account of his eight years as a diplomatic dazzler and charmer in Paris.
— The New York Times
More Reviews (3) Fewer Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Numerous bestselling volumes have been written recently on the man one biography called "the first American." Pulitzer Prize-winner Schiff (for Vera [Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov]) eloquently adds to our understanding of Benjamin Franklin with a graceful, sly and smart look at his seven-year sojourn in France in his quasi-secret quest to secure American independence by procuring an alliance with the French. Drawing on newly available sources, Schiff brilliantly chronicles the international intrigues and the political backbiting that surrounded Franklin during his mission. "A master of the oblique approach, a dabbler in shades of gray," she writes, "Franklin was a natural diplomat, genial and ruthless." She deftly recreates the glittering and gossipy late 18th-century Paris in which Franklin moved, and she brings to life such enigmatic French leaders as Jacques-Donatien Chaumont, Franklin's closest adviser and chief supplier of American aid, and Charles Vergennes, the French minister of foreign affairs, who helped Franklin write the French-American Alliance of 1778. Franklin also negotiated the peace of 1783 that led not only to the independence of the colonies from Britain but also to a bond between France and America that, Schiff says, lasted until WWII. Schiff's sure-handed historical research and her majestic prose offer glimpses into a little-explored chapter of Franklin's life and American history. Agent, Lois Wallace. (Apr. 2) Forecast: This should receive excellent review coverage, which will boost sales, and perhaps the blurb from Joseph Ellis will help. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
A Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer travels to Paris as Ben Franklin persuades the French to back the Colonies. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Here's breaking news for the Francophobic freedom-fries set: without France, there would have been no United States. "The majority of the guns fired on the British at Saratoga were French," writes ace biographer/historian Schiff (Vera [Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov], 1999; Saint-Exupery, 1994). "Four years later, when the British set down their muskets at Yorktown, they surrendered to forces that were nearly equal parts French and American, all of them fed and clothed and paid by France, and protected by de Grasse's fleet." Moreover, she adds, the French came up with the equivalent of $9 billion to secure American independence. But without Benjamin Franklin, Schiff argues, France likely would not have come to the aid of the fledgling republic. It was not only that Franklin, who a few years before had been an ardent royalist, presented the American cause as an ideal way for France to play knavish tricks on Britain, but also that Franklin was not Silas Deane. The latter, a staid Connecticut businessman, was Congress's representative in Paris, having arrived there just three days after the Declaration of Independence was promulgated; his duties also involved espionage, but Deane was an unable spy. Moreover, he was a bumpkin compared to the British ambassador, who had a grand time announcing every American defeat to the court at Versailles. Franklin's reputation as a sophisticate and man of letters and science preceded him, and he found himself welcome and even lionized. His steady lobbying soon brought material aid to the much-suffering rebels, though the French and Americans forged a partnership "founded on various illusions about the past and a general misunderstanding of the future"; theprofessional French military scorned the American militia as mere rabble, and the French in general felt that the Americans showed too little gratitude to them for their help. Which evens the score, one supposes, for subsequent American complaints that the French have been insufficiently grateful for our help. . . . A lively, well-written, and most timely study of diplomacy in action. Author tour

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780805080094
  • Publisher: Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
  • Publication date: 1/10/2006
  • Edition description: First Edition
  • Pages: 528
  • Sales rank: 120,480
  • Product dimensions: 5.49 (w) x 8.27 (h) x 0.91 (d)

Meet the Author

Stacy Schiff
Stacy Schiff

Stacy Schiff is the author of Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2000, and Saint-Exupery, which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. Schiff's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and The Times Literary Supplement. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in New York City.

Biography

Stacy Schiff is the author of Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2000, and Saint-Exupery. which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. Schiff's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and The Times Literary Supplement. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in New York City.

Author biograpy courtesy of Henry Holt and Company.

    1. Hometown:
      New York, New York
    1. Date of Birth:
      October 26, 1961
    2. Place of Birth:
      Adams, Massachusetts
    1. Education:
      B.A., Williams College, 1982
    2. Website:
      http://stacyschiff.com/

Read an Excerpt



A Great Improvisation



Franklin, France, and the Birth of America


By Schiff, Stacy


Henry Holt and Co.



Copyright © 2005
Schiff, Stacy

All right reserved.


ISBN: 0805066330


From A Great Improvisation:
Typically after an ocean crossing Franklin's eyes brimmed with tears at the sight of land; he had just withstood the most brutal voyage of his life. For thirty days he had pitched about violently on the wintry Atlantic, in a cramped cabin and under unremittingly dark skies. He was left with barely the strength to stand, but was to cause a sensation. Even his enemies conceded that he touched down in France like a meteor. Among American arrivals, only Charles Lindbergh could be said to have met with equal rapture, the difference being that Lindbergh was not a celebrity until he landed in Paris. At the time he set foot on French soil Benjamin Franklin was among the most famous men in the world. It was his country that was the great unknown. America was six months old; Franklin seventy years her senior. And the fate of that infant republic was, to a significant extent, in his hands.

Continues...



Excerpted from A Great Improvisation
by Schiff, Stacy
Copyright © 2005 by Schiff, Stacy.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided byDial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Cast of Characters xi
Introduction 1
I The First Mistake in Public Business Is the Going into It 1776 7
II Half the Truth Is Often a Great Lie 1776-1777 36
III Three Can Keep a Secret, If Two of Them Are Dead 1777 65
IV The Cat in Gloves Catches No Mice 1777-1778 94
V There Is No Such Thing as a Little Enemy 1778 126
VI Admiration Is the Daughter of Ignorance 1778 165
VII Success Has Ruined Many a Man 1779 196
VIII Everyone Has Wisdom Enough to Manage the Affairs of His Neighbors 1780 229
IX The Sting of a Reproach Is the Truth of It 1780-1781 260
X Those Who in Quarrels Interpose May Get Bloody Nose 1782 291
XI The Absent Are Never Without Fault 1783 325
XII Creditors Have Better Memories Than Debtors 1784-1785 359
Epilogue 398
Chronology 413
Notes 419
Selected Bibliography 459
Acknowledgments 463
Index 467

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 8 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(6)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 8 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 18, 2005

    Spy vs. Spy - - desperate moments in the Revolution that were often hilarious

    What a great read. A lone American goes to France to convince a monarchy to back a revolution. Franklin pulled off the impossible despite being undermined by Congress and British and American spies. In one way, it was a terrific con, which makes this book a pleasure. But Franklin's belief in America was sincere, and he brilliantly explained the ideas behind the country. He out-philosophized the country of philosophers. He out-witted the country of great wits. I loved the way this book balances the serious and the humorous. (There was a mania for Franklin 'merchandise'!) Also, it's written with energy and style. I read aloud to whomever was in the room many, many brilliant one-liners.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 23, 2009

    Amazing reading!

    What a great and entralling way to learn about one of the most ingenious and creative man in our history.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 14, 2007

    Improvisation ois the mother of America

    Well researched and well written by someone who clearly loves the subject matter. Benjamin Franklin is portrayed as the man he really was, all his achievements and his foibles are illustrated with the greatest of care. The Franklin here is the man of the people vilified by his own for a service that only he was capable of, The father who gave up his beloved son for a cause whose love of family extended to all save for his own wife and daughter whom he ignored with as much fervor as that with which he brokered alliances with Europe. It was his unique American identity, an identity that was as yet still foreign even to other Americans that made its way to Paris and an uncertain future on the heels of a world changing war. The book itself is a treasure trove of secondary and tertiary information on events and people too often ignored by the histories. From Characters like Chaumont and the Brillons to the secret power brokers 'of which Paris seemingly overflowed with' like the firebrand playwright Beaumarchais whose patriotic passions flamed brighter from the streets of Paris than any to be found in Boston. This books greatest strength is also its weakness. The scope is so expansive that a single book can barely do justice, leaving a book that is overfilled with insights and information that at times give the appearance more of a historical jumble of facts and figures. There are too many characters whose egos alone could fill volumes, to many important dates and events worth note that one is left with a feeling that the whole is less that the parts. Despite this, I recommend the book with regards and with the following advice¿ Read ¿A Great Improvisation¿ along with ¿The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin¿ by Gordon S. Wood to gain a full understanding of this very complicated Promethean figure.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 20, 2006

    Excellent Book!

    An informative, well written narrative that's fun to read. If you have any interest whatsoever in Franklin or the birth of America, you will love this book.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 7, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 5, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 3, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 22, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 8 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit