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ralphz's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag about a fascinating man and his perplexing son, Benjamin and William Franklin.
As Ben grew in stature and fame as a scientist and patriot, his illegitimate son William went his own way, becoming governor of New Jersey just as war broke out.
The Franklins were accused of colluding, splitting the difference and taking different sides so they could help each other when the dust settled. But the battles inside the family revealed how untrue that was.
The loyalist William was hoping it would all go away, and was imprisoned for being on the wrong side.
Meanwhile Ben warily became a patriot, testing the winds and coming to terms with being on the other side. He was brilliant, of course, and much of the patriots’ war and nation planning involved him. But he didn’t go out of his way to help his son, being much more concerned with his grandson, William’s son Temple.
Along the way, Ben posted himself in France and all but abandoned his dying wife. That created more cracks in the Franklin family.
Ben had a tendency to move slowly, leaving for a short visit to England before the war that turned in to a residence of more than 2 years. He kept his own counsel, did what he wanted, and philandered along the way.
This is an interesting look at a complicated, famous family, warts and all. You’ll probably be a little less enamored with Benjamin Franklin afterward.
Excerpts from letters make up the bulk of the book, but we don’t know how truthful any of the Franklins were with each other, so the truth can bit a bit inconsistent and uncertain.
The book, unfortunately, goes on a little too long. Trim it by about 50 pages and it’ll go down better.
I received this book from Library Thing.
For more of my reviews, go to Ralphsbooks.
As Ben grew in stature and fame as a scientist and patriot, his illegitimate son William went his own way, becoming governor of New Jersey just as war broke out.
The Franklins were accused of colluding, splitting the difference and taking different sides so they could help each other when the dust settled. But the battles inside the family revealed how untrue that was.
The loyalist William was hoping it would all go away, and was imprisoned for being on the wrong side.
Meanwhile Ben warily became a patriot, testing the winds and coming to terms with being on the other side. He was brilliant, of course, and much of the patriots’ war and nation planning involved him. But he didn’t go out of his way to help his son, being much more concerned with his grandson, William’s son Temple.
Along the way, Ben posted himself in France and all but abandoned his dying wife. That created more cracks in the Franklin family.
Ben had a tendency to move slowly, leaving for a short visit to England before the war that turned in to a residence of more than 2 years. He kept his own counsel, did what he wanted, and philandered along the way.
This is an interesting look at a complicated, famous family, warts and all. You’ll probably be a little less enamored with Benjamin Franklin afterward.
Excerpts from letters make up the bulk of the book, but we don’t know how truthful any of the Franklins were with each other, so the truth can bit a bit inconsistent and uncertain.
The book, unfortunately, goes on a little too long. Trim it by about 50 pages and it’ll go down better.
I received this book from Library Thing.
For more of my reviews, go to Ralphsbooks.
jpalfreyman's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't very familiar with the Franklins before picking up this book and it certainly is an interesting story. William was the illegitimate child of Ben Franklin. His mother's name has been lost to family secrecy and time. Benjamin took custody of the him when he was baby. He took a common law wife (she wasn't certain if she was if she was a widow due to abandonment and she never formally married Benjamin) and raised him as part of the family. Fun fact: a first born, legitimate child, through this line was not born to the Franklins until the first great granddaughter had a baby while actually married. This family was close. In Benjamin's long absences, that included Benjamin's wife's death, William watched out for the family and took care of Benjamin's affairs. Benjamin returned from Europe just in time to see William installed as the Royal Governor of New York. Once Benjamin returned from London knowing that war was coming he immediately took custody of William's son Temple and ceased all correspondence with his son. During the war William was a POW and Benjamin was in Paris trying to get an alliance with the French. Interesting speculation of whether or not Benjamin tried to help his son, but there is absolutely no formal record to say he did. This family was torn apart by the war and never fully recovered. The post war was more interesting as William tried to reach out to his father. This is ultimately a family story divided by war. Much like families of the Civil War.
bargainsleuth's review against another edition
2.0
I'm surprised at all the great reviews. When I read a nonfiction book, I expect to learn the facts. Instead, the author uses a lot of constructs of fiction writing to tell this tales of the two Franklins. "Franklin smiled warmly" or "As they settled into the house on the hill, the fragrance of ripe apples mingled with the salt smell of the sea." Oh, really? Instead of making the tale more engaging, it made me wary of everything that was written on whether something really happened or if it was just the author's fancy prose.
uncommongrace25's review against another edition
4.0
I have read a lot of history books over the years and more than my share of Benjamin Franklin biographies (mainly for kids), but this one kind of blew me away. It recounts most of the big highlights of Franklins life with a light touch on his scientific experiments and more rigorous appraisal of his diplomatic pursuits. However neither this man’s intense grasp of human nature nor his status and power within the rebellion could prevent what must have been the deepest wound he ever felt— his son’s loyalty to the king, arrest and later involvement in crimes against rebels. I really enjoyed this unique biography that shed light on many aspects of Franklins life and that of the nation’s early days that I had no knowledge of. At times poignant and other times maddening, the relationship between this father and son and extended family resonates in the hearts of all who have family and wonder if those bonds could survive the type of challenges these men endured.
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
4.0
My man Ben Franklin was a very complicated man with very complicated family history. This excellent biography looks at the relationship of Ben and his son William. The two were very close--and then the American Revolution came and they picked opposite sides. Epstein is a master at narrative non-fiction.
chewdigestbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Ok, raise your hand if you'd never even thought of Ben Franklin having a son? (Illigetiment, no less?) Just me, huh?
We've often read of the Civil War splitting up families, but I can't think of ever reading one from the American Revolution and certainly not from the household of one of the major players.
It was really hard to feel sympathy for William and his Tori-ness unless I reminded myself how busy and therefore absent his own father was during his upbringing. It's not like you can gain the love of Democracy, especially creating a democracy out of whole cloth, via DNA, it takes constant attention, just like everything in parenting.
In my mind, family comes first, then politics, religion, and all of the other tightrope subjects. William was no better than his father and his choices were really very similar when it came to their personal lives. None of this is an excuse though and I can't forgive either of them, but my distaste is more so for William Franklin.
Hard to read, seeing politics tearing a family apart, but also enlightening in that all parents and their relationships with kids are really complicated, no matter the century.
We've often read of the Civil War splitting up families, but I can't think of ever reading one from the American Revolution and certainly not from the household of one of the major players.
It was really hard to feel sympathy for William and his Tori-ness unless I reminded myself how busy and therefore absent his own father was during his upbringing. It's not like you can gain the love of Democracy, especially creating a democracy out of whole cloth, via DNA, it takes constant attention, just like everything in parenting.
In my mind, family comes first, then politics, religion, and all of the other tightrope subjects. William was no better than his father and his choices were really very similar when it came to their personal lives. None of this is an excuse though and I can't forgive either of them, but my distaste is more so for William Franklin.
Hard to read, seeing politics tearing a family apart, but also enlightening in that all parents and their relationships with kids are really complicated, no matter the century.
shoshin's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Interesting take on the Franklin family. Makes you question Benjamin's childrearing abilities.
kahale's review against another edition
4.0
This had a very conversational style. it favored Ben's life more than William but I learned a lot about both men.
pelachick's review against another edition
4.0
This book focuses on the relationship between Benjamin franklin, his son, and his grandson. Along the way I learned some new things about the revolutionary war and Benjamin Franklin. Epstein tries to be even handed and not to take either the father or the son's side. But I have to admit after reading this I believe William Franklin brought on much of his trouble himself. This is a great read if you are interested in the founding fathers.