Triumph in Paris: The Exploits of Benjamin Franklin

by David Schoenbrun

In the literature of American history, this book is a first. Triumph in Paris tells the story of the man who took the American Revolution to Europe and kept it alive there. In 1776, Franklin -- diplomat, lover, scientist, writer and bon vivant extraordinaire -- postponed his long-overdue retirement and, at age seventy, went to Paris to negotiate America's first foreign alliance and secure the arms, men and money that made our independence possible.

Genres: American Revolution, Nonfiction

420 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Drew Neisser]

For a hardcore Franklin buff, this is a good slog. Written before Stacy Schiff's Benjamin Franklin and the Birth of America which has the same focus (Franklin's time in Paris negotiating with the French) it offers a more spirited take on Franklin's exploits. Also a good reminder of the divisiveness that existed in American politics even before we became a nation. Franklin's ambassadorial comrades including John Adams, John Jay and Arthur Lee are constantly undermining the old man's efforts and do not come off as heroes during this formative period of our nation's history.

One last note: this book reinforces my theory that Franklin was indeed America's first Chief Marketing Officer and without his efforts to win French financial and military support, we simply would not have won the war. Imagine marketing a revolution to a king?

[Kenneth Fehl]

Superb reading and fantastic history about the importance of Benjamin Franklin in obtaining an alliance with France without which there would have been no surrender at Yorktown.