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Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity
In this new account of Franklin's early life, Pulitzer finalist Nick Bunker portrays him as a complex, driven young man who elbows his way to success.
From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of forty-one, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge. Always trying to balance virtue against ambition, Franklin emerges as a brilliant but flawed human being, made from the conflicts of an age of slavery as well as reason. With archival material from both sides of the Atlantic, we see Franklin in Boston, London, and Philadelphia as he develops his formula for greatness. A tale of science, politics, war, and religion, this is also a story about Franklin's the talented family of English craftsmen who produced America's favorite genius.
From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of forty-one, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge. Always trying to balance virtue against ambition, Franklin emerges as a brilliant but flawed human being, made from the conflicts of an age of slavery as well as reason. With archival material from both sides of the Atlantic, we see Franklin in Boston, London, and Philadelphia as he develops his formula for greatness. A tale of science, politics, war, and religion, this is also a story about Franklin's the talented family of English craftsmen who produced America's favorite genius.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published September 18, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 19, 2024
Those looking at the title and expecting groundbreaking new details of the adolescent and young adult life of one of the most interesting men of the eighteenth century and Enlightenment will be a bit underwhelmed. While historian Nick Bunker has admirably allowed a fair amount of effort and research into this study of Benjamin Franklin’s earlier years, the reader becomes frustrated and loses interest in the fact that he unnecessarily shares a social history of the times depicted. This has a tendency to overshadow the main gist of Franklin’s creativity and genius, and easily could have been more appropriately used as a standalone book in itself.
Opening with a prologue that recounts Franklin’s final years in Paris and politics, Bunker also details his contributions both internationally and domestically—aptly explaining that it was his boyhood genius and imagination that would allow him to go to such great lengths in his later years. The writing can be a bit dry and slow at times, leaving the reader to lose focus and forget some of the more interesting aspects of Franklin’s life. That’s not to say the book is entirely made up of previously covered material and topics, as there is a bit more information on Deborah Reed and her elusive relationship with Benjamin. Some of the best parts expand upon Franklin’s own autobiography, especially his journey into Philadelphia:
But, as he put it in his autobiography, with the waves still beating at the stones all their efforts were in vain: “the wind was so high…that we could not hear to understand each other.” Darkness fell, and the gale continued. They spent the night on the water, huddled in the bows against the spray. It was not until late the next day, rowing hard at the oars, that they entered the mouth of the Raritan River, docking at the harbor town of Perth Amboy: hungry, thirsty, and worn out, but still alive.
The partnerships and rivalries that he becomes acquainted with in the Printing industry are also fascinating in their similarities of today’s business world, a mere three hundred years later. Indeed, Nick Bunker has thoroughly devoured source after source of Franklin’s adolescence and inventive years spent making a name for himself, placing the research into his work and developing a biography that should be the quintessential reference to his subject’s earlier life. Nonetheless, Bunker has approached these younger days of Benjamin Franklin’s life in a tone and style that is too scholarly and broad for what should be a witty and entertaining biography. With over 30 unique illustrations throughout, the book also contains a wealthy amount of source material and notes to delve into.
Opening with a prologue that recounts Franklin’s final years in Paris and politics, Bunker also details his contributions both internationally and domestically—aptly explaining that it was his boyhood genius and imagination that would allow him to go to such great lengths in his later years. The writing can be a bit dry and slow at times, leaving the reader to lose focus and forget some of the more interesting aspects of Franklin’s life. That’s not to say the book is entirely made up of previously covered material and topics, as there is a bit more information on Deborah Reed and her elusive relationship with Benjamin. Some of the best parts expand upon Franklin’s own autobiography, especially his journey into Philadelphia:
But, as he put it in his autobiography, with the waves still beating at the stones all their efforts were in vain: “the wind was so high…that we could not hear to understand each other.” Darkness fell, and the gale continued. They spent the night on the water, huddled in the bows against the spray. It was not until late the next day, rowing hard at the oars, that they entered the mouth of the Raritan River, docking at the harbor town of Perth Amboy: hungry, thirsty, and worn out, but still alive.
The partnerships and rivalries that he becomes acquainted with in the Printing industry are also fascinating in their similarities of today’s business world, a mere three hundred years later. Indeed, Nick Bunker has thoroughly devoured source after source of Franklin’s adolescence and inventive years spent making a name for himself, placing the research into his work and developing a biography that should be the quintessential reference to his subject’s earlier life. Nonetheless, Bunker has approached these younger days of Benjamin Franklin’s life in a tone and style that is too scholarly and broad for what should be a witty and entertaining biography. With over 30 unique illustrations throughout, the book also contains a wealthy amount of source material and notes to delve into.
August 18, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. The author certainly did his research and I learned a great deal from reading this book. The writing style was smooth, but about half (maybe more?) of the book was not directly about Franklin but about those around him. After a while the number of people introduced simply blurred together and it made the read a bit challenging for me. With that said, I did learn a lot and appreciated the read.
August 27, 2018
Such a well written insight into one of the world's great inventors. The author has done a fabulous job of providing lots of "new" information abut Franklin's early years and at the same time making it fascinating and enjoyable reading. There is so much information/facts/discoveries packed into this book it is amazing. I enjoyed from start to finish and learned so much. I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway.
July 26, 2020
Young Benjamin Franklin, by Nick Bunker; Alfred A. Knopf: New York, $30.00
You'll not find a more inspiring book. It is all the more valuable because true. It is true because of the Homeric research conducted by Pulitzer Prize Finalist Nick Bunker. Bunker, a master historian, is author of award winning histories of the Mayflower Pilgrims and How Britain Came to Fight America. In this remarkable effort he tells about the great American genius, Benjamin Franklin. More specifically, he tells of 'The Birth of Ingenuity", which Franklin quite literally exemplified.
Ingenuity is a word which in its 17th Century origins meant more a well balanced man. It would be a man who not only could think in original ways, its scope today, but was good with his hands, his social awareness, and service orientation. An ingenious man was one who was intelligence, wise, shared his wisdom with others, and thereby did his duty as a citizen. Benjamin's grandfather Thomas was such a man. We'd call him a go-to man today. Benjamin did not fall far from the tree.
We follow Franklin as he learned the printer's trade in Boston, then London. We discover, moreover, that he was constantly seeking out others who might be able to expand his knowledge. He read voraciously. Franklin came of age in the coffeehouse era. Here men met to discuss affairs of the day, share insights, but equally as well to discuss philosophy, theology, and science, broadly defined. Franklin was so given to such endeavors that he formed the Junto, young men on the rise who sought to discuss, rationally and with no rancor or anger, issues of the day. In this he was following the advice of wise friends who seemed to come to him as would one to any bright young man.
Franklin was able to follow his trade in printing through to a series of locations. He printed about government, about personalities, and ideas. Most of all, he observed. He thought, and particularly reflected before writing.
As a man of the Age of Enlightenment, he was not bound by tradition. He knew what it meant to study, to learn, and learning, to apply. His application was done using wisdom deduced from having learned from the best, wherever they might appear in his life. He was open minded, not constrained by tradition, and thus was a man of the new age.
You'll not find a more inspiring book. It is all the more valuable because true. It is true because of the Homeric research conducted by Pulitzer Prize Finalist Nick Bunker. Bunker, a master historian, is author of award winning histories of the Mayflower Pilgrims and How Britain Came to Fight America. In this remarkable effort he tells about the great American genius, Benjamin Franklin. More specifically, he tells of 'The Birth of Ingenuity", which Franklin quite literally exemplified.
Ingenuity is a word which in its 17th Century origins meant more a well balanced man. It would be a man who not only could think in original ways, its scope today, but was good with his hands, his social awareness, and service orientation. An ingenious man was one who was intelligence, wise, shared his wisdom with others, and thereby did his duty as a citizen. Benjamin's grandfather Thomas was such a man. We'd call him a go-to man today. Benjamin did not fall far from the tree.
We follow Franklin as he learned the printer's trade in Boston, then London. We discover, moreover, that he was constantly seeking out others who might be able to expand his knowledge. He read voraciously. Franklin came of age in the coffeehouse era. Here men met to discuss affairs of the day, share insights, but equally as well to discuss philosophy, theology, and science, broadly defined. Franklin was so given to such endeavors that he formed the Junto, young men on the rise who sought to discuss, rationally and with no rancor or anger, issues of the day. In this he was following the advice of wise friends who seemed to come to him as would one to any bright young man.
Franklin was able to follow his trade in printing through to a series of locations. He printed about government, about personalities, and ideas. Most of all, he observed. He thought, and particularly reflected before writing.
As a man of the Age of Enlightenment, he was not bound by tradition. He knew what it meant to study, to learn, and learning, to apply. His application was done using wisdom deduced from having learned from the best, wherever they might appear in his life. He was open minded, not constrained by tradition, and thus was a man of the new age.
April 6, 2023
Another case of a Ben Franklin book I was supposed to skim, but I couldn't help myself and I read the whole thing. I thought that might happen because I already knew I liked Nick Bunker from "An Empire on the Edge." This is an interesting one because it is such a deep dive into the first 40 years of Franklin's life. Sometimes too deep a dive. I could not keep track of all these people - Franklin corresponded with so many people, all of whom were very important to remember, according to Bunker. So especially when we get to the successful newspaper years and the science stuff, there are just too many moving parts.
I loved the in-depth look at Franklin's youthful year or so in London, though. And his Boston years. There are all kinds of moments here where everything makes more sense. Like, I always thought leaving Boston was this relatively simple thing - his brother was overbearing and Franklin wanted to run away and so he did. But Bunker shows how Ben and his brother had been using this newspaper to really piss off a lot of people in Boston. It makes sense - Ben was a teenager and his brother was in his 20s, and they published a lot of irreverent stuff about how the ministers were full of it, because they knew it would sell papers. But obviously they made a lot of enemies. It is much easier to understand why Ben would want a fresh start somewhere else, where no one knew him or his family. And then the London stuff really helps one understand how even at 20 years old or whatever, Ben could start to market himself as this sophisticated guy, who was up on all the political doings of London, and could kind of translate them for his Philadelphia audience.
Plus Bunker has a great writing style. Like all these biographers, he falls in love with his subject a bit, but less so than most I feel. He is not afraid to point out the many stupid things that Franklin did along the way. Maybe because he is writing about a young guy, who was obviously still making mistakes. That's what you do in your 20s. Even if you are Ben Franklin.
I loved the in-depth look at Franklin's youthful year or so in London, though. And his Boston years. There are all kinds of moments here where everything makes more sense. Like, I always thought leaving Boston was this relatively simple thing - his brother was overbearing and Franklin wanted to run away and so he did. But Bunker shows how Ben and his brother had been using this newspaper to really piss off a lot of people in Boston. It makes sense - Ben was a teenager and his brother was in his 20s, and they published a lot of irreverent stuff about how the ministers were full of it, because they knew it would sell papers. But obviously they made a lot of enemies. It is much easier to understand why Ben would want a fresh start somewhere else, where no one knew him or his family. And then the London stuff really helps one understand how even at 20 years old or whatever, Ben could start to market himself as this sophisticated guy, who was up on all the political doings of London, and could kind of translate them for his Philadelphia audience.
Plus Bunker has a great writing style. Like all these biographers, he falls in love with his subject a bit, but less so than most I feel. He is not afraid to point out the many stupid things that Franklin did along the way. Maybe because he is writing about a young guy, who was obviously still making mistakes. That's what you do in your 20s. Even if you are Ben Franklin.
August 28, 2022
Without question, my Book of the Year, so far. One of the best books on Franklin, this takes many episodes one reads right past in his Autobiography (and standard biographies) and goes deeper.
The definition of "young" is generous: Franklin is forty years old before this author seems to notice that "like every author, I have to stop somewhere."
It's a tiresome fad now to deflate our national founders - bring them down to earth, blah, blah. Bunker doesn't bring Franklin down so much as to show how and why he flew -- from first page to last -- inspired by the five generations before him.
Bunker shows us that throughout his life, Franklin "retained his love of curiosities, especially when they were eccentric human beings." These secondary characters in his biography are brought out as vivid eccentrics, almost as fascinating as the central character.
My quibbles are few, my gratitude for his research and story telling unbounded. This is not a perfect introduction to Franklin (this author aligns with my nomination of Carl Van Doren for that, and of course we have to suggest the Autobiography), but once past the basic outlines, this is a prize.
The definition of "young" is generous: Franklin is forty years old before this author seems to notice that "like every author, I have to stop somewhere."
It's a tiresome fad now to deflate our national founders - bring them down to earth, blah, blah. Bunker doesn't bring Franklin down so much as to show how and why he flew -- from first page to last -- inspired by the five generations before him.
Bunker shows us that throughout his life, Franklin "retained his love of curiosities, especially when they were eccentric human beings." These secondary characters in his biography are brought out as vivid eccentrics, almost as fascinating as the central character.
My quibbles are few, my gratitude for his research and story telling unbounded. This is not a perfect introduction to Franklin (this author aligns with my nomination of Carl Van Doren for that, and of course we have to suggest the Autobiography), but once past the basic outlines, this is a prize.
February 8, 2022
There were moments when this book told of sweeping moments from Franklin's youth, but all in all, and while it is sufficiently detailed (almost to the point of exhaustion in certain chapters, as the plot sometimes veers off to explain one of Bennie's infinite cast of friends), I think it failed a bit in its structure. Much of the book discusses Ben's work with electricity. In fact, it almost seems set up to reach that ultimate conclusion and finish with some sort of payoff relating the titular YOUNG BEN to his older, wisened, scientific clusterfuck self and paying all of that legwork off. I'm rambling. This really was a well-researched piece and I enjoyed a lot of it. A more carefully structured work would have been better to douse the epic dryness of the back half of the narrative. Some info might have been left on the cutting room floor, but I appreciate that the author is an absolute UNIT when it comes to including every last traceable detail.
October 13, 2018
I've been reading "Young Benjamin Franklin" alongside of another seemingly unrelated book, "AI Superpowers: China, the United States and the New World Order," by Kai-fu Lee. The latter emphasizes distinct advantages that China enjoys in the race to develop artificial intelligence as both a source of profit and an instrument of geopolitical power. These advantages include a culture of aggressive entrepreneurial competition, a treasure trove of data, a skilled army of well-educated engineers and a supportive government. Reading Bunker's biography of Franklin's early life (up to the year 1747, when he began his electrical experiments in earnest, I'm struck by how much conditions in early 18th century British North America mirror those in early 21st century China. Franklin's rivalry with another Philadelphian printer, Andrew Bradford, provided the competitive context for the exploitation of a wealth of data emerging on both sides of the Atlantic in the form of new publications and scientific papers. Artisans like Franklin himself, an ingenious tinkerer, had the skills to tackle the difficulties of experimentation with rudimentary and poorly understood apparati. Patrons like James Logan and Andrew Hamilton spurred on the quest for knowledge with political and financial support. Franklin would famously declare upon the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that the framers had created "a republic, if you can keep it." As our country takes on the growing challenge of global competition with China, a look back at Franklin's early career can serve as a source of inspiration and example.
June 26, 2019
As a Benjamin Franklin devotee, it's hard to find "new" information about the man BUT somehow Bunker does just that. This book is particularly good at helping you understand Franklin's trajectory from Boston runaway to a world-famous scientist (although I wish he had spent a bit more time on his electrical theories). In that trajectory, you learn more about his ancestors than other historians have covered along with some relevant details about his business associates in Philly.
November 19, 2018
Very much enjoyed this bio of Benjamin Franklin. Focused on his years through around age 40, it is an excellent book and very informative. I very much enjoyed it. Gives a little more insight into his life and early days than many bios do.
July 9, 2023
Let me preface this review by saying that the only reason I read this book was because my mother bought it for me and I felt obligated. So that probably affected my reading experience. But aside from that I thought the book was ok. Im probably not a good judge of biographies though. It was kinda boring but how interesting can a biography about Benjamin Franklin be yk. Im just glad I finished it (even if it took me a couple months and many books in between). It also felt kinda biased?? I guess you have to like Ben to write a whole book about him though. Still. Also I’ve been hearing some things about how he was a racist. Idk if it’s true so ima look into it cause that was not brought up in this book. Im also not sure I absorbed all the info I read. At some points I was reading and thinking and I was definitely too lazy and eager to be done with this book to re-read. But uh yeah I guess I know shit about Benjamin Franklin now. Slay.
November 11, 2024
I was thinking more 4.5 stars but I thought the ending was strong in putting forth the thesis of the book—mainly regarding Franklin’s drive and ingenuity throughout his life. The only other thing I’d read on Franklin was his autobiography so at first this seemed repetitive, but as it went on I found it enlightening. This was a good study of Franklin’s early life and character, presented in a balanced way. I found the take on George Whitefield interesting. I’d never heard him talked about so critically before, and maybe he is often considered too fondly, but here it seemed like the author possibly had some personal reason for often having a fairly negative take on him. Otherwise the book was very balanced in all respects.
March 15, 2023
Bunker who covers Franklin until the mid 1740s does an excellent job of describing the places and societies that Franklin lived in . The context does illuminate Franklin . His descriptions of Franklin as a businessman and the printing trade are excellent . He fully discusses Franklin’s religious beliefs and their evolution . He reins in speculation about his family life where the sources are spare . Sometimes his detours away from Franklin into broader topics become unnecessarily detailed and confusing . On whole this is a worthy supplement to the many good Franklin biographies focused on later periods .
April 12, 2021
Nick Bunker’s Young Benjamin Franklin: the Birth of Ingenuity chronicles the first 40 years of Franklin’s life. From Boston to Philadelphia to London and back to Philadelphia he establishes himself as the colonies’ premier printer, publicist, scientific researcher, postmaster and political gadfly. The early drive continues through his old age. He becomes more progressive and expansive in thought right ‘til the end. Fascinating history of pre-revolutionary America and the forces that shaped it.
February 24, 2019
Ponderously slow with a seemingly perpetual proliferation of names, even after the first 100 pages I still didn't feel that I had developed a familiarity or connection with who Franklin really was. Unfortunately, Bunker's tome reminded me of why I am reluctant to read biography - because bad biography is so boring. Stopping now.
March 8, 2019
Fairly captivating. I could put it down, but it was always a little hard. The information and depth of research was great, but the narrative lacked something of a cohesive structure. There were one or two themes / Franklin-isms that the author would occasionally come back to, but it seemed more like after writing 95% of it he tried to tie everything together just to wrap it up.
August 24, 2022
I have been a fan of Benjamin Franklin since I was a small child. This was an interesting exploration of his family, its origins, and how a runaway adolescent was shaped into a savvy businessman, an intellectual and dedicated civic servant, and a scientist. I listened to this as an e-book -- made the treadmill miles fly by. I highly recommend it.
January 13, 2019
This is an excellent choice to grasp, a little better, the social history of the pre-revolutionary times and to understand the complexity of this historical figure. Not a quick read but worth every moment. Extremely satisfying read.
February 8, 2019
Not a quick read, but interesting. I was wishing there was a volume 2, because I wanted to keep reading about the rest of Franklin's life. The author was very thorough, and brought a lot to my understanding of the social/political/religious thought of the day.
June 8, 2019
Thorough book that traces Franklin's family to its British roots, offers a glimpse of how his family members helped shape his ideology, and follows Franklin as he becomes a printer's apprentice and a renowned printer. It actually goes a bit further than that.
August 8, 2021
"All his life, Franklin loved to come across clever but eccentric people, flesh-and-blood equivalents of his vegetarian mentor Thomas Tyron. He kept them stored in his memory to form his on cabinet of human curiosities." (128)
February 16, 2023
Nick Bunker's biography on the early years of inventor Benjamin Franklin. From peregrinating escapades in Philadelphia, Boston, and London and his encounters leading to insights transforming him into the famous man exemplifying the American spirit of industriousness.
October 9, 2018
Fascinating, and well-researched life of that Renaissance man, Benjamin Franklin, up until around the age of 40.
A surprise - how much religion was an influence in his life, both for good and ill.
A surprise - how much religion was an influence in his life, both for good and ill.
October 13, 2018
Not sure it adds much to Walter Isaacson’s account. Also - it would benefit from a little more editing.
January 25, 2019
Good listen.
Learned about Franklin's family history and his youth... Pre-war.
Would be worth listening to again in the future. So I could catch parts I may have missed.
Learned about Franklin's family history and his youth... Pre-war.
Would be worth listening to again in the future. So I could catch parts I may have missed.
August 5, 2020
This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys history, science and the various forms of physics. It was very interesting and packed full of historical events. I loved it!
November 7, 2025
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