Great review Joel. I have not read this one. I did read the biography of Franklin written by Walter Isaacson which was excellent and I found Franklin to be a fascinating individual. He certainly did not conform to the mold or expectations of his era.
I found it interesting to read what you wrote of Franklin‘s account of leaving Boston by virtue of a loophole in his contract with his brother. I had heard that his brother resented Franklin’s success with his Silence Dogood letters, and so his brother began mistreating him. Franklin fled and lied to a ship boat captain that he had gotten a girl pregnant and needed to flee the city. Maybe all of this harmonizes, I had just never heard about the loophole. Wonderful summary of this book, Joel. It’s amazing how rationalism took such deep root that it led greater support to the error of deism. Such misdirection by such brilliant men makes me often wonder where we are off today.
What a nice tribute to a fascinating man. My favorite story about Franklin illustrates how he was optimistic about the future, while wanting to help others after his death. He established a couple of trusts that were designed to provide microloans to young men trying to start small businesses. They were supposed to last 200 years, and by 1989 they were worth millions. Philadelphia and Boston benefited quite a bit from his foresight.
Great review Joel. I have not read this one. I did read the biography of Franklin written by Walter Isaacson which was excellent and I found Franklin to be a fascinating individual. He certainly did not conform to the mold or expectations of his era.
I found it interesting to read what you wrote of Franklin‘s account of leaving Boston by virtue of a loophole in his contract with his brother. I had heard that his brother resented Franklin’s success with his Silence Dogood letters, and so his brother began mistreating him. Franklin fled and lied to a ship boat captain that he had gotten a girl pregnant and needed to flee the city. Maybe all of this harmonizes, I had just never heard about the loophole. Wonderful summary of this book, Joel. It’s amazing how rationalism took such deep root that it led greater support to the error of deism. Such misdirection by such brilliant men makes me often wonder where we are off today.
What a nice tribute to a fascinating man. My favorite story about Franklin illustrates how he was optimistic about the future, while wanting to help others after his death. He established a couple of trusts that were designed to provide microloans to young men trying to start small businesses. They were supposed to last 200 years, and by 1989 they were worth millions. Philadelphia and Boston benefited quite a bit from his foresight.
He was one of the most versatile and significant figures in the history of the United States- and the world.
A super idea - a famous biography per month. I’m going to add biographies to my TBR stack.
Fascinating. Given how closely he studied his habits, it sounds like he was a highly reflective thinker who enjoyed a good meta-analysis!