false 946930 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 58479 4 56948 2004 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin total:208|5:44|4:104|3:51|2:9|1:0| 208 807 341 42 2124 3.86 917 189 48055268 1017488 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.91 197 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 5 0 false Mon Mar 02 17:46:25 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 17:51:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> 46645834 1022195 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Wed Feb 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 10:47:03 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 06:02:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 45459462 1008236 1903711 159420019X 9781594200199 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190078275m/1903711.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1903711.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.33 9
Central to America's idea of itself is the character of Benjamin Franklin. We all know him, or think we do: In recent works and in our inherited conventional wisdom, he remains fixed in place as a genial polymath and self-improver who was so very American that he is known by us all as the first American.

The problem with this beloved notion of Franklin's quintessential Americanness, Gordon Wood shows us in this marvelous, revelatory book, is that it's simply not true. And it blinds us to the no less admirable or important but far more interesting man Franklin really was and leaves us powerless to make sense of the most crucial events of his life. Indeed, thinking of Franklin as the last American would be less of a hindrance to understanding many crucial aspects of his life-his preoccupation with becoming a gentleman; his longtime loyalty to the Crown and burning ambition to be a player in the British Empire's power structure; the personal character of his conversion to revolutionary; his reasons for writing the Autobiography; his controversies with John and Samuel Adams and with Congress; his love of Europe and conflicted sense of national identity; the fact that his death was greeted by mass mourning in France and widely ignored in America.

But Franklin did become the Revolution's necessary man, Wood shows, second behind George Washington. Why was his importance so denigrated in his own lifetime and his image so distorted ever since? Ironically, Franklin's diplomacy in France, which was essential to American victory, was the cause of the suspicion that clouded his good name at home-and also the stage on which the "first American" persona made its debut. The consolidation of this mirage of Franklin would await the early nineteenth century, though, when the mask he created in his posthumously published Autobiography proved to be the model the citizens of a striving young democracy needed.

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin is a landmark work, a magnificent fresh vision of Franklin's life and reputation, filled with profound insights into the Revolution and into the emergence of America's idea of itself.]]> 0 0 false Thu Feb 05 09:25:48 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:25:48 -0800 2009 Reviewers agree that Wood's new book makes a valuable addition to the recent spate of Founding Fathers literature. More of a study than a biography, the book follows the twists and turns of Franklin's life—from commoner to gentleman, from Royalist to Patriot—with great insight. Despite the title...

more...]]> 36835677 1606867 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Tue Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 03 12:19:26 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 12:15:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 38933408 899032 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Sun Nov 30 07:37:11 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 07:43:18 -0800 2008 more...]]> 54471114 968809 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 5 0 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 30 08:31:03 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 09:38:45 -0700 2009 Walter Isaacson wrote a great one on Franklin a few years ago. If you want a straight biography (and a lengthy one), that's the book for you. Wood takes a different approach. Benjamin Franklin is in many ways the quintessential American: a self-made man, a lover of liberty, a champion of the common ...more...]]> 28855597 933324 1903711 159420019X 9781594200199 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190078275m/1903711.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1903711.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.33 9
Central to America's idea of itself is the character of Benjamin Franklin. We all know him, or think we do: In recent works and in our inherited conventional wisdom, he remains fixed in place as a genial polymath and self-improver who was so very American that he is known by us all as the first American.

The problem with this beloved notion of Franklin's quintessential Americanness, Gordon Wood shows us in this marvelous, revelatory book, is that it's simply not true. And it blinds us to the no less admirable or important but far more interesting man Franklin really was and leaves us powerless to make sense of the most crucial events of his life. Indeed, thinking of Franklin as the last American would be less of a hindrance to understanding many crucial aspects of his life-his preoccupation with becoming a gentleman; his longtime loyalty to the Crown and burning ambition to be a player in the British Empire's power structure; the personal character of his conversion to revolutionary; his reasons for writing the Autobiography; his controversies with John and Samuel Adams and with Congress; his love of Europe and conflicted sense of national identity; the fact that his death was greeted by mass mourning in France and widely ignored in America.

But Franklin did become the Revolution's necessary man, Wood shows, second behind George Washington. Why was his importance so denigrated in his own lifetime and his image so distorted ever since? Ironically, Franklin's diplomacy in France, which was essential to American victory, was the cause of the suspicion that clouded his good name at home-and also the stage on which the "first American" persona made its debut. The consolidation of this mirage of Franklin would await the early nineteenth century, though, when the mask he created in his posthumously published Autobiography proved to be the model the citizens of a striving young democracy needed.

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin is a landmark work, a magnificent fresh vision of Franklin's life and reputation, filled with profound insights into the Revolution and into the emergence of America's idea of itself.]]> 2 0 false Thu May 26 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Thu Jul 31 05:30:52 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 25 06:10:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 27079066 1323157 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Jul 12 18:51:35 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 19:22:28 -0700 2008 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is mythologized to some degree, written as it was with varying degrees of jaundiced eye as he aged, that eye as well turned toward writing a work to affect the wo...more...]]> 14935544 885754 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri Feb 08 15:06:50 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 08 15:07:16 -0800 2008 more...]]> 6355898 388538 1903711 159420019X 9781594200199 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190078275m/1903711.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1903711.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.33 9
Central to America's idea of itself is the character of Benjamin Franklin. We all know him, or think we do: In recent works and in our inherited conventional wisdom, he remains fixed in place as a genial polymath and self-improver who was so very American that he is known by us all as the first American.

The problem with this beloved notion of Franklin's quintessential Americanness, Gordon Wood shows us in this marvelous, revelatory book, is that it's simply not true. And it blinds us to the no less admirable or important but far more interesting man Franklin really was and leaves us powerless to make sense of the most crucial events of his life. Indeed, thinking of Franklin as the last American would be less of a hindrance to understanding many crucial aspects of his life-his preoccupation with becoming a gentleman; his longtime loyalty to the Crown and burning ambition to be a player in the British Empire's power structure; the personal character of his conversion to revolutionary; his reasons for writing the Autobiography; his controversies with John and Samuel Adams and with Congress; his love of Europe and conflicted sense of national identity; the fact that his death was greeted by mass mourning in France and widely ignored in America.

But Franklin did become the Revolution's necessary man, Wood shows, second behind George Washington. Why was his importance so denigrated in his own lifetime and his image so distorted ever since? Ironically, Franklin's diplomacy in France, which was essential to American victory, was the cause of the suspicion that clouded his good name at home-and also the stage on which the "first American" persona made its debut. The consolidation of this mirage of Franklin would await the early nineteenth century, though, when the mask he created in his posthumously published Autobiography proved to be the model the citizens of a striving young democracy needed.

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin is a landmark work, a magnificent fresh vision of Franklin's life and reputation, filled with profound insights into the Revolution and into the emergence of America's idea of itself.]]> 3 0 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 18:18:46 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 05 15:34:12 -0800 2007
oops - wrong assignment;)

I learned that just about everything I thought I knew about Benjamin Franklin was wrong, or grossly distorted. While reading this book, I realized that I never formally learned much about him at all, oth...more...]]> 18864645 441201 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 3 0 false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 28 13:01:21 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 13:08:02 -0700 2008
It details ...more...]]> 68176875 2578162 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Aug 20 07:51:46 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 07:52:20 -0700 2009 1
The writing is good enough that I will read more Gordon Wood in the future, if his topic interests me....more...]]> 27194057 72162 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Mon Jul 14 07:09:26 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 07:11:21 -0700 2008
...and while I'm sure the new Isaacson biography of Franklin is terrific it's Amazon description screams populist re-hashing whereas these three all have intellectual axes to grind and are just fascinating. They always tell you in school how unl...more...]]> 41741434 1859651 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Fri Sep 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 03 13:10:43 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 13:18:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 51635583 2066074 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Apr 05 19:22:04 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 19:25:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 39665389 1787556 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 3 0 false Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 08 23:19:59 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 12 09:27:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 31776499 214938 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 3 0 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 19:37:33 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 27 23:40:30 -0700 2009
One uncommonly known fact presented is that in order to win and sustain the admiration of t...more...]]> 39128541 102888 1903711 159420019X 9781594200199 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190078275m/1903711.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1903711.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.33 9
Central to America's idea of itself is the character of Benjamin Franklin. We all know him, or think we do: In recent works and in our inherited conventional wisdom, he remains fixed in place as a genial polymath and self-improver who was so very American that he is known by us all as the first American.

The problem with this beloved notion of Franklin's quintessential Americanness, Gordon Wood shows us in this marvelous, revelatory book, is that it's simply not true. And it blinds us to the no less admirable or important but far more interesting man Franklin really was and leaves us powerless to make sense of the most crucial events of his life. Indeed, thinking of Franklin as the last American would be less of a hindrance to understanding many crucial aspects of his life-his preoccupation with becoming a gentleman; his longtime loyalty to the Crown and burning ambition to be a player in the British Empire's power structure; the personal character of his conversion to revolutionary; his reasons for writing the Autobiography; his controversies with John and Samuel Adams and with Congress; his love of Europe and conflicted sense of national identity; the fact that his death was greeted by mass mourning in France and widely ignored in America.

But Franklin did become the Revolution's necessary man, Wood shows, second behind George Washington. Why was his importance so denigrated in his own lifetime and his image so distorted ever since? Ironically, Franklin's diplomacy in France, which was essential to American victory, was the cause of the suspicion that clouded his good name at home-and also the stage on which the "first American" persona made its debut. The consolidation of this mirage of Franklin would await the early nineteenth century, though, when the mask he created in his posthumously published Autobiography proved to be the model the citizens of a striving young democracy needed.

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin is a landmark work, a magnificent fresh vision of Franklin's life and reputation, filled with profound insights into the Revolution and into the emergence of America's idea of itself.]]> 3 0 false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 12:46:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 12:48:32 -0800 2008 41860382 1631551 58479 0143035282 9780143035282 37 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170509970m/58479.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58479.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.88 208 The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country's idea of itself.]]> 4 0 false Thu Jan 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 13:01:33 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 09:59:57 -0800 2009 9016411 173565 1903711 159420019X 9781594200199 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190078275m/1903711.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1903711.The_Americanization_of_Benjamin_Franklin 3.33 9
Central to America's idea of itself is the character of Benjamin Franklin. We all know him, or think we do: In recent works and in our inherited conventional wisdom, he remains fixed in place as a genial polymath and self-improver who was so very American that he is known by us all as the first American.

The problem with this beloved notion of Franklin's quintessential Americanness, Gordon Wood shows us in this marvelous, revelatory book, is that it's simply not true. And it blinds us to the no less admirable or important but far more interesting man Franklin really was and leaves us powerless to make sense of the most crucial events of his life. Indeed, thinking of Franklin as the last American would be less of a hindrance to understanding many crucial aspects of his life-his preoccupation with becoming a gentleman; his longtime loyalty to the Crown and burning ambition to be a player in the British Empire's power structure; the personal character of his conversion to revolutionary; his reasons for writing the Autobiography; his controversies with John and Samuel Adams and with Congress; his love of Europe and conflicted sense of national identity; the fact that his death was greeted by mass mourning in France and widely ignored in America.

But Franklin did become the Revolution's necessary man, Wood shows, second behind George Washington. Why was his importance so denigrated in his own lifetime and his image so distorted ever since? Ironically, Franklin's diplomacy in France, which was essential to American victory, was the cause of the suspicion that clouded his good name at home-and also the stage on which the "first American" persona made its debut. The consolidation of this mirage of Franklin would await the early nineteenth century, though, when the mask he created in his posthumously published Autobiography proved to be the model the citizens of a striving young democracy needed.

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin is a landmark work, a magnificent fresh vision of Franklin's life and reputation, filled with profound insights into the Revolution and into the emergence of America's idea of itself.]]> 2 0 false Mon Nov 12 13:08:08 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 29 06:50:41 -0800 2007 more...]]> 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=946930