false <![CDATA[Benjamin Franklin: An American Life]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166338396m/10883.jpg 10883 9 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. <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 750514 2003 Benjamin Franklin: An American Life total:1645|5:417|4:770|3:379|2:63|1:16| 1645 6444 2695 303 4 6 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Aug 27 09:27:21 -0700 2007 Wed Jan 02 13:44:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Wed Aug 13 07:45:44 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 07:47:59 -0700 2008 4 1 false false Fri Aug 01 11:20:46 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 08:34:53 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 11:20:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 17:40:41 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 08:21:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri Feb 08 15:05:30 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 08 15:06:02 -0800 2008

My initial impression is that the author is careful in not falling into the a trap th...more...]]> 4 1 true false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Jan 26 13:20:14 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 13:21:42 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false true Thu Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Feb 16 16:54:19 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 27 19:57:28 -0700 2008
I picked this book up in an antique store in Virginia, of all places, and it sat on my shelf for a year and a half before I got around to reading it. But once I opened it I couldn't get enough of Dr. Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin is the MAN. I wa...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 28 08:51:18 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 11:03:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 true false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Feb 25 08:26:28 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 08:39:06 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 08 19:33:43 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 19:33:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu May 21 11:11:18 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 11:12:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 19:45:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 20:06:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Jul 22 21:03:28 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 21:14:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 10 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Sun May 10 15:23:03 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 17:51:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Nov 06 05:49:24 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 06:05:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 24 16:09:55 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 20:36:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 21:50:46 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 21:54:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 true false Sun Jan 11 17:28:04 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 19 10:04:48 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 11 17:28:04 -0800 2009 1
Isaacson takes you on a journey through Benjamin Franklin's life that touches on t...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 08:29:20 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 08:46:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 07 10:46:33 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 20:06:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=10883