{"product_id":"benjamin-franklin-9780300101621","title":"Benjamin Franklin","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe greatest statesman of his age, Benjamin Franklin was also a pioneering scientist, a successful author, the first American postmaster general, a printer and a bon vivant. This biography offers a compact and provocative portrait of America's most extraordinary patriot.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Superb. . . . The best short biography of Franklin ever written. . . . [A] concise and beautifully written portrait of an American hero.”—Gordon Wood, \u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In this engaging and readable book, Edmund S. Morgan . . . does more than recount the colorful and gripping story of Franklin’s long, action- and idea-filled life; he also skillfully dissects the man’s personality and mind, his social self and political beliefs, deftly exploring in \u003ci\u003eBenjamin Franklin\u003c\/i\u003e how the two halves of his being lived together, not always in harmony. . . . Illuminating.”—Susan Dunn, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“For an introduction to the mind of Franklin—one of the most inquisitive, productive and engaging minds of his or any other day—readers can’t do better than this incisive volume.”—H. W. Brands, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The distinguished historian Edmund S. Morgan . . . distill[s] the singularly eventful life of . . . Franklin . . . [to] give the great man, in every important sense, his due. . . . Morgan carefully documents and elucidates with scarcely a wasted word.”—Jonathan Yardley, \u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“So much has been written about Benjamin Franklin in the 212 years since his death that you might imagine there’s nothing left to say. But there always is. Now comes another biography of the man, a fairly short one, and in my opinion it’s one of the best.”—Max Hall, \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Morgan . . . has produced a book that crowns his career. While several previous biographies provide fuller accounts of Franklin’s life, none rivals Morgan’s study for its grasp of Franklin’s character, its affinity not just for his ideas, but for the way his mind worked.”—Joseph J. Ellis, \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Writing with exemplary lucidity, Morgan emphasises Franklin’s omnivorous curiosity and devotion to public usefulness, showing how they connect his activities as printer, journalist, postmaster, soldier, scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, politician, diplomat and author.”—\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A model biography: pithy, wise, and—despite its brevity—complete. Franklin emerges as a quintessential hero of his time, and ours.”—\u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e, “Fifty Books That Make Sense of Our Times”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This year publishers are flooding bookstores with works lamenting how U.S. political and business leaders of the 1990s lost sight of the ideals on which the United States was founded. One new book, however, rises above the wistfulness and recreates that original vision. [This book] breathes new life into core American values.”—\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Amid the mountains of material written by and about Benjamin Franklin . . . this small and lovingly produced book stands out for its clarity and economy. . . . Such a considered but almost entirely admiring account of Benjamin Franklin is refreshingly revisionist.”—Andrew Rosenheim, \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Excellent. . . . Sublime. . . . [An] illuminating portrait of a quintessential, and perennially contemporary, American spirit.”—Malcolm Jones, \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Short, loving.”—Adam Gopnik, \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Edmund Morgan paints a fascinating portrait of a true titan, a hugely energetic figure whose life influenced countless other lives and touched every part of his century.”—Paula Adamick, \u003ci\u003eCanada Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Morgan’s style is fluent and conversational without being slick or glib. He writes with enthusiasm and with the discipline of someone who commands far more detail and context than he has allowed himself space to impart. The result is a pleasant and informative book.”—George Fetherling, \u003ci\u003eVancouver Sun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“For those who want an entertaining, witty, succinct, and well-rounded account that captures Franklin’s essential character, look no further than Morgan. . . . Morgan’s biography is a book well worth reading.”—Mark G. Spencer, \u003ci\u003eCanadian Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A concise, excellent, and eminently readable biography. . . . Morgan has written a book very much like its hero: so fluent, so engaging, and so self-effacing that one only gradually realizes its true breadth and scope. . . . In conveying to modern readers the natural geniality of Franklin’s character, Morgan succeeds also in casting new light on the social atmosphere and political ideas of the emerging American nation.”—Walter Russell Mead, \u003ci\u003eForeign Affairs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdmund S. Morgan was honored with a special Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for his “creative and deeply influential body of work as an American historian that spans the last half century”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSelected by \u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNamed one of the best books of 2002 by \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNamed a Best Book of 2002 by \u003ci\u003eSalt Lake City Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A wise and brilliant study.”—Robert Middlekauff, University of California, Berkeley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51036941648215,"sku":"9780300101621","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780300101621.jpg?v=1750933120","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/benjamin-franklin-9780300101621","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}