bn.com
Just as he suggested the humble turkey as our national bird in lieu of the bald eagle, so it might be argued that, celebrated as he is, Benjamin Franklin's contributions to the forging of the young United States have gone underappreciated. His Zelig-like knack for being in and among the influential figures of the day, his lightning wit, his business acumen, his literary and journalistic accomplishments, his inventions, his skills at negotiation -- these qualities that so set Franklin apart in his day inspire a sort of astonished admiration today. Brands's engaging and insightful look at this latter-day Renaissance man is a welcome and overdue tribute.
Washington Post Book World
One of the more interesting rags-to-riches lives in the history of humanity.
Historian Brands illuminates Franklin's many facets in this informative biography. One can quibble with Brands' hyperbolic title (the term "first American" could apply to a dozen other figures), but not with Franklin's contribution to American history. Born into a colonial America still ruled by Great Britain and dominated by religious ideologues, he helped transform the loosely affiliated colonies into a united, freedom-loving opposition to the crown and later into a full-fledged nation. In retelling Franklin's life, Brands writes in a clear, lively, novelistic style and is especially good at revealing Franklin, the living, breathing, flawed human being. But when reporting on a life as rich as Franklin's, it's hard not to leave out as much interesting detail as one leaves in. Gossip lovers will no doubt be dismayed at how little space is devoted to the juicier moments in Franklin's life, such as his foolish middle-age dalliance with the twenty-three-year-old Katy Ray. Even at 759 pages, this book still ends too quickly.
—Jack Helbig
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
"Franklin's story is the story of a man--an exceedingly gifted man and a most engaging one. It is also the story of the birth of America--an America this man discovered in himself, then helped create in the world at large," says Texas A&M historian Brands (T.R.: The Last Romantic, etc.) in the prologue to his stunning new work. Franklin's father took him out of school at age 11, but the boy assiduously sacrificed sleep (while working as an apprentice printer) to read and learn, giving himself rigorous exercises to develop his ease with language and discourse, among other disciplines. In essence, as Brands vividly demonstrates, Franklin defined the Renaissance man. He made multiple contributions to science (electricity, meteorology), invention (bifocal lenses, the Franklin furnace) and civic institutions (the American Philosophical Society, the University of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Post Office). But Brands is primarily concerned with Franklin's development as a thinker, politician and statesman and places his greatest emphasis there. In particular, Brands does an excellent job of capturing Franklin's exuberant versatility as a writer who adopted countless personae--evidence of his gift for seeing the world through a variety of different lenses--that not only predestined his prominence as a man of letters but also as an agile man of politics. From Franklin's progress as a self-declared "Briton"--serving as London agent for Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and other colonies--to his evolution as an American (wartime minister to France, senior peace negotiator with Britain and, finally, senior participant at the Constitutional Convention), Brands, with admirable insight and arresting narrative, constructs a portrait of a complex and influential man ("only Washington mattered as much") in a highly charged world. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Library Journal
In this new biography, Brands (history, Texas A&M Univ.; T.R.: The Last Romantic) sees Franklin's January 29, 1774 confrontation in Parliament with Alexander Wedderburn, first Earl of Rosslyn (1733-1805), as the formative moment in Benjamin Franklin's life. During those two hours in the "Cockpit," it was not just Wedderburn insulting Franklin, "it was also Britain mocking America." Franklin's story, as Brands sees and tells it, "is also the story of the birth of America--an America this man discovered in himself, then helped create in the world at large." Brands, a master storyteller himself, draws on letters to and by Franklin, as well as recollections of Franklin's contemporaries, to create an absorbing portrait of the 18th-century world that was the backdrop--and the stage--for America's multidimensional journalist, inventor, diplomat, propagandist, moralist, humorist, and revolutionary. Brands's eminently readable narrative is a worthy successor to Carl Van Doren's classic Pulitzer Prize-winning Benjamin Franklin. Recommended for public and academic libraries.--Robert C. Jones, Central Missouri State Univ., Warrensburg Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
Booknews
This first biography of Benjamin Franklin in over 60 years brings to life one of the most delightful, bawdy, original, and important figures in American history. Draws on previously unpublished letters to and from Franklin, as well as recollections and anecdotes of Franklin's contemporaries, to create a portrait of the 18th-century genius who was America's first Renaissance man. Brands teaches history at Texas A&M University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
New Yorker
Like it's subject, this biography is both solid and enchanting...Franklin emerges as a man with a passion to add to human happiness.
Kirkus Reviews
A rousing, firstrate life of a Founding Father.
From the Publisher
H.W Brands has given us the authoritative Franklin biography for out time.” —Joseph J. Ellis author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding Brothers
“Like its subject, this biography is both solid and enchanting.” —The New Yorker
“[A] biography with a rich cast of secondary characters and a large and handsome stock of historical scenery. . . . Brands writes clearly and confidently about the full spectrum of the polymath’s interests. . . . This is a Franklin to savor.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Benjamin Franklin’s life is one every American should know well, and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands.” —The Dallas Morning News
“A vivid portrait of the 18th-century milieu and of the 18th-century man. . . . [Brands is] a master storyteller.” —The Christian Science Monitor
“A thorough biography of Benjamin Franklin, America’s first Renaissance man. . . . In graceful, even witty prose. . . . Brands relates the entire, dense-packed life.” —The Washington Post
“A lively re-introduction to Franklin. . . . Rich in the descriptions of settings, personalities, and action. . . . [Brands] offers . . . a succession of amusing anecdotes and vivid tales.” —The New Republic
“Comprehensive, lively. . . . [Brands] is a skilled narrator who believes in making good history accessible to the non-specializing book lover, and the general reader can read this book with sustained enjoyment.” —The Boston Globe
FEB/MAR 02 - AudioFile
Both the author and narrator take on the syntax and diction of the mid-eighteenth century to portray the life of the eponymous printer, Benjamin Franklin. Like its principal character, the story is inventive and clever, loading in plenty of gossip and meaty anecdotes. While Nelson Runger doesn't hurry his story, remains a little stilted for material that is more relaxed than he. Although the audiobook doesn't fit as entertainment, the cozy and novel presentation provides a pleasant learning experience made to tranquilize rush-hour traffic or a long line. For almost anyone, the book will also serve as a valuable vocabulary builder. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
