A few years ago, I visited Boston for the first time. On the suggestion of my nephew, who has lived in Boston for several years, our family embarked on The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 path that winds through downtown. Stops along the trail have historical markers with info at several significant sites, including Paul Revere’s House and the Old North Church. The tour gave me new insight into the passion for liberty shared by many of the early American founders in Boston, and I wanted to learn more. Friends recommended Walter Issacson’s biography of Benjamin Franklin, and I finally read it this winter.
What I liked
In Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Issacson creates a well researched portrait of Franklin, one of the few Founding Fathers who truly embraced democracy and a love for the “middling class.” I enjoyed learning how much Franklin valued the middle class and championed the rights of working people. Writes Issacson, “His focus tended to be on how ordinary issues affect everyday lives, and on how ordinary people could build a better society.”
“He saw middle class values as a source of social strength, not as something to be derided. His guiding principle was a “dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people.”
Reading Franklin gave me deeper understanding of the tensions among the Founders. It reinforced the idea that there has always been conflict and partisanship in our country, even from its earliest days. Reflecting on the long standing tradition of debate in America gives me comfort during this time of dramatic division in our country.
What I didn’t like
I grew weary of the many long quotes from Franklin’s publications. Issacson aims to demonstrate Franklin’s wit and personality, but they started to feel tedious.
Also, as Franklin’s story went on, I become disenchanted with his personal decisions. This great leader dedicated more time to his country than to his own family. He spent many years abroad in England and France and left his wife and daughter in Boston. He developed surrogate families while living in Europe, fathered an illegitimate child, and had close relationships with several women, some of them much younger than him. Reading snippets of correspondence between Franklin and some of his lady friends often made me cringe. Even when his wife begged him to come home, and after she had a stroke, Franklin stayed away.
Like many great leaders, Franklin had significant flaws. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life offers yet another demonstration that very few people are capable of managing fame, career, and family well.
Recommendation
If you enjoy non-fiction and biography, especially books about historical figures, you would probably like Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. Learning more about one of America’s Founding Fathers feels appropriate as we close in on the 250th Anniversary of the beginning of our nation. However, with 493 pages of details, it requires a commitment. I would not recommend to people who don’t enjoy biographies.
Is there a book about an historical figure that you can recommend? Tell me about it in the comments.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
