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savoirplus's review against another edition
2.0
Like other reviewers have pointed out, there a TON of missing years from his autobiography.
Which brings me to the first point, that it is an extremely dull/dry read for the majority of the book. It's a very slow start, to a extremely disappointing end.
It ends pretty abruptly and with a single chapter where the "author" tried summing up the book.
It was not a great read overall.
I, in all honesty, had to skim most of it just to find the more interesting things he wrote (about himself).
His science experiments and inventions are barely even mentioned, which for me, kind of made the book a bust.
The only few nuggets I gained from reading his first person accounts were:
- How he started learning other languages, such as, French and Italian (Pg. 107)
- How he didn't patent the open furnace (Franklin stove) and his reasons/thoughts as to why not (Pg. 130 & 131)
2/5, I only give it 2 stars for the fact of it is his actual own writing and it's fascinating to get in the mind of a person who is so beloved in American History and in general.
Lack of a 3rd/4th/5th star is due to the fact that content wise I would not recommend someone to read this, or at least NOT start with this book as their first foray into Benjamin Franklin.
Definitely go and check out the dozens of other biographies written by others. Which hopefully, will encompass his life and accomplishments in entirety, which this book does NOT do.
Which brings me to the first point, that it is an extremely dull/dry read for the majority of the book. It's a very slow start, to a extremely disappointing end.
It ends pretty abruptly and with a single chapter where the "author" tried summing up the book.
It was not a great read overall.
I, in all honesty, had to skim most of it just to find the more interesting things he wrote (about himself).
His science experiments and inventions are barely even mentioned, which for me, kind of made the book a bust.
The only few nuggets I gained from reading his first person accounts were:
- How he started learning other languages, such as, French and Italian (Pg. 107)
- How he didn't patent the open furnace (Franklin stove) and his reasons/thoughts as to why not (Pg. 130 & 131)
2/5, I only give it 2 stars for the fact of it is his actual own writing and it's fascinating to get in the mind of a person who is so beloved in American History and in general.
Lack of a 3rd/4th/5th star is due to the fact that content wise I would not recommend someone to read this, or at least NOT start with this book as their first foray into Benjamin Franklin.
Definitely go and check out the dozens of other biographies written by others. Which hopefully, will encompass his life and accomplishments in entirety, which this book does NOT do.
toastymaloney's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this so much. He had such an interesting life.
honeywhiskey's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh, I did not like this book. Now, I liked Ben Franklin the person, before I read this. He is so prideful! He did do a lot of intresting things, but retold them in the most boring way! Don't read it unless it's required for school!
whatanerdgirlsays's review against another edition
3.0
Ben, you were a cool guy, and you're fun to learn about but man you are NOT an interesting writer to read
pjdas1012's review against another edition
2.0
"There will be sleeping enough in the grave."
As fascinating a man as Benjamin Franklin was, I found this autobiography to be dry as he discusses his life experiences in a matter-of-fact manner with limited commentary or insight to his thoughts. I did find his section about the 13 virtues to be fascinating and impactful on my life, as he describes his method for cultivating moral virtue and eliminating mistakes from his life. But the rest of the autobiography was a description of the various events that happened in his life, which I found difficult to relate to and stay interested in.
As fascinating a man as Benjamin Franklin was, I found this autobiography to be dry as he discusses his life experiences in a matter-of-fact manner with limited commentary or insight to his thoughts. I did find his section about the 13 virtues to be fascinating and impactful on my life, as he describes his method for cultivating moral virtue and eliminating mistakes from his life. But the rest of the autobiography was a description of the various events that happened in his life, which I found difficult to relate to and stay interested in.
camsullivan's review against another edition
3.0
My rating may have been too harsh but as an autobiography this was incredible lacking, as aside from his early life he does not discuss much of major interest. However, it was still an enjoyable read as it was uniquely Franklin’s voice and offered real rare insights into his daily life.
saadrehman's review against another edition
5.0
I set out to read this book thinking it would be inspirational and life-changing. (I owed my expectations to having read the only Autobiography of Malcolm X — a truly inspirational book!) But it tuned out to be far more interesting and reach.
It's not inspirational, true. But it is informative and instructive. It's a great of book of strategy, wisdom, history, philosophy, even politics. I learned the big Ben's antics that he used throughout his life. He shows like a loving father, how to apply yourself in this world to maximise one's potential as a citizen.
I am tempted to re-rewrite this book as a manual of strategy and power, for it covers a broad spectrum of events an ordinary person might find himself in, and shows him, how to be extra-ordinary.
It's not inspirational, true. But it is informative and instructive. It's a great of book of strategy, wisdom, history, philosophy, even politics. I learned the big Ben's antics that he used throughout his life. He shows like a loving father, how to apply yourself in this world to maximise one's potential as a citizen.
I am tempted to re-rewrite this book as a manual of strategy and power, for it covers a broad spectrum of events an ordinary person might find himself in, and shows him, how to be extra-ordinary.
jbmorgan86's review against another edition
4.0
If someone writes an autobiography, he/she must think (or know!) that he/she is something special. It’s striking that Benjamin Franklin felt that the details of his life ought to be written down . . . nearly 20 years prior to all of they American Revolution stuff he’s usually associated with!
This autobiography isn’t an exhaustive autobiography. It is fairly short. Franklin spends much more time discussing his achievements than he does the mundane details of his life (the death of a son to small pox only gets a minor mention).
What have you here is details about Franklin’s business, his views on Christianity (Franklin was a deist, very skeptical of Christianity, his virtue-tracking project, the origin of Poor Richard’s Almanac, his role in the French and Indian War, and his electrical experiments.
I read this because I recently discovered a collection of the Harvard Classics. This is the first book of the first volume. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the read.
This autobiography isn’t an exhaustive autobiography. It is fairly short. Franklin spends much more time discussing his achievements than he does the mundane details of his life (the death of a son to small pox only gets a minor mention).
What have you here is details about Franklin’s business, his views on Christianity (Franklin was a deist, very skeptical of Christianity, his virtue-tracking project, the origin of Poor Richard’s Almanac, his role in the French and Indian War, and his electrical experiments.
I read this because I recently discovered a collection of the Harvard Classics. This is the first book of the first volume. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the read.