Benjamin Franklin – The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Autobiography – read as iPhone app before Christmas 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -
‘Dear son; I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors (and) imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week’s interrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you.’
And so begins the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Statesman, scientist, revolutionary and leading figure of his age, the beginning paragraph displays typical modesty of a man of humble origins. It was completed in 1791, though a century of various drafts and publications would muddy the waters, before the coming of the twentieth century when the reading of Franklin’s autobiography was promoted as standard reading for youthful Americans.
It charts Franklin’s rise as a young man with nothing at his disposal, but for a head full of ideas and unrivalled energy. Building an honest reputation in the printing trade, Franklin writes of his rise as an integral part of the Philadelphian community: a thinker with local writers, a cog in local business, as well as a man of action in politics. It was he who brought about the initiation of a public lending library, of a fire service and various trade agreements within the American colonies.
Franklin’s autobiography has its fair share of critics; with Dennis Welland among them. At fault appears to be Franklin’s ‘exasperating… worldly wisdom’. Such words are justified, with the founding father never tiring of lecturing the reader. Read for yourself: ‘Thus, if you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas.’
The biggest regret of the autobiography is the timing of its end in the late 1750s. Before the nitty gritty of the revolutionary war, before his main stand in office, his travels in France and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was an outstanding man of the eighteenth century; his work of autobiography, however, remains distinctly ordinary.
Autobiography – read as iPhone app before Christmas 2010
- 2 nods out of 5 -
‘Dear son; I have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdotes of my ancestors (and) imagining it may be equally agreeable to you to know the circumstances of my life, many of which you are yet unacquainted with, and expecting the enjoyment of a week’s interrupted leisure in my present country retirement, I sit down to write them for you.’
And so begins the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Statesman, scientist, revolutionary and leading figure of his age, the beginning paragraph displays typical modesty of a man of humble origins. It was completed in 1791, though a century of various drafts and publications would muddy the waters, before the coming of the twentieth century when the reading of Franklin’s autobiography was promoted as standard reading for youthful Americans.
It charts Franklin’s rise as a young man with nothing at his disposal, but for a head full of ideas and unrivalled energy. Building an honest reputation in the printing trade, Franklin writes of his rise as an integral part of the Philadelphian community: a thinker with local writers, a cog in local business, as well as a man of action in politics. It was he who brought about the initiation of a public lending library, of a fire service and various trade agreements within the American colonies.
Franklin’s autobiography has its fair share of critics; with Dennis Welland among them. At fault appears to be Franklin’s ‘exasperating… worldly wisdom’. Such words are justified, with the founding father never tiring of lecturing the reader. Read for yourself: ‘Thus, if you teach a poor young man to shave himself, and keep his razor in order, you may contribute more to the happiness of his life than in giving him a thousand guineas.’
The biggest regret of the autobiography is the timing of its end in the late 1750s. Before the nitty gritty of the revolutionary war, before his main stand in office, his travels in France and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was an outstanding man of the eighteenth century; his work of autobiography, however, remains distinctly ordinary.
