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Description
He was a publisher, printer, scientist, and inventor, but Ben Franklin's greatest success lay in his work as a diplomat. In this unique recording of his account of his experiences as a spokesman for the Colonies, we listen in on the secret political transactions and undercover dealings of colonial America, filtered through Franklin's inimitable wit.Tags
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Member Reviews
A pretty readable and objective History of Ben Franklin.
3312. Benjamin Franklin, by Carl Van Doren (read May 20, 2000) This won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, and when I noticed it at our public library I thought I would read it. It has aged well, and is very well done. Franklin was a great man and had an interesting life. Of the 83 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for biography I have now read 49. Without concentrating on reading the others I will never get all of them read--and I will not devote all my time to getting them all read.
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Best U.S. History Books (1754-1828)
363 works; 18 members
Publisher's Weekly NON-Fiction list - 1912 - 1975
486 works; 4 members
Author Information
56+ Works 1,692 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Series
Work Relationships
Contains
Is abridged in
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1938
- People/Characters
- Benjamin Franklin; Abigail Adams; John Adams; James Abercrombie; Anne-Catherine de Ligniville, Madame Helvétius
- Important places
- France; Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Important events
- American Revolution (1775 | 1783)
- First words
- Families break up when poor men emigrate.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And sometimes, with his marvelous range, in spite of his personal tang, he seems to have been more than any single man: a harmonious human multitude.
- Disambiguation notice
- This Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Franklin is not to be confused with The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin as edited by Carl Van Doren.
The potential for confusion is compounded by the fact that some years later t... (show all)he Autobiography and Van Doren's Biography were issued together as a two volume set.
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 973.3 — History & geography History of North America United States Revolutionary War (1775-89)
- LCC
- E302.6 .F8 .V36 — History of the United States United States Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861 Biography (Late eighteenth century)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 673
- Popularity
- 42,653
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.19)
- Languages
- English, German, Italian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 24
- ASINs
- 38
