Most Popular Books by Benjamin Franklin

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Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin illustrated Benjamin Franklin - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs. Although it had a tortuous publication history after Franklin''s death, this work has become one of the most famous and influential examples of an autobiography ever written. Franklin''s account of his life is divided into four parts, reflecting the different periods at which he wrote them. There are actual breaks in the narrative between the first three parts, but Part Three''s narrative continues into Part Four without an authorial break

From "Poor Richard''s Almanac" to letters to Jefferson and Adams, the words of the America''s favorite Founding Father are edited and annotated in this delightful new reader.

Franklin s Autobiography is the only enduring best-seller written in America before the nineteenth century, as well as the most popular autobiography ever written."

In this inspiring autobiography, Benjamin Franklin not only recounts a significant portion of his beautiful and successful life but also shares his personal formula for success. Franklin advocated sacrifice, hard work, thrift, frugality, and continuous education as determinants for individual and collective prosperity. Franklin''s basic idea that, no matter who you are, with hard work and thrift, you can achieve prosperity and greatness fully embodies the "American dream." For all those involved in business development or collective projects, reading this ebook is highly recommended. Franklin tells us how he created and encouraged numerous enterprises in his city, Philadelphia, in the then colony of Pennsylvania, and in his country. Just to name a few of the enterprises initiated by him: the first library, the first book club, the first militia, the first hospital in Philadelphia, and often in the United States. Franklin was the epitome of an honest, upright, and competent entrepreneur in both public administration and in the private management of his printing press and newspaper. Benjamin Franklin will forever be a great example of a citizen, entrepreneur, and public figure.

Franklin''s most entertaining speculative letters on a variety of subjects: the first balloon ascensions, electrocution, daylight saving, bifocal glasses, magic squares, his famous Kite and Stove, and so on.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin details the life of this famous Founding Father, inventor, philosopher, satirist, political theorist, statesman, and diplomat. Franklin''s irreverent, yet intelligent and pure-intentioned, thoughts on life shaped the idea of what it means to be both a free thinker and a United States citizen. Follow the accomplishments of this influential man in his own words, and discover a life well spent.

Too often dismissed as the least philosophic of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin had a deep and lasting impact on the shape of American political thought. In this substantial collection of Franklin''s letters, essays, and lesser-known papers, Ralph Ketcham traces the development of Franklin''s practical-and distinctly American-political thought from his earliest Silence Dogood essays to his final writings on the Constitution and The Evils of the Slave Trade.

Differentiated book- It has a historical context with research of the timeBenjamin Franklin was the youngest son and 15th of 17 children of Josiah Franklin, a soap and candle maker who had immigrated to Boston from Northamptonshire, England. Because he disliked his father''s trade but loved reading, he was apprenticed at the age of 12 to his brother James, a printer. He and James often disagreed, and finally Benjamin quit before his contract had expired. Looking for work, he went first to New York and then to Philadelphia, where he was hired by Samuel Keimer.Governor Keith of Pennsylvania was impressed with Franklin and offered to set him up in business. Assuming that Keith had placed letters of credit for him on board his ship, Franklin sailed for England to purchase his printing equipment, only to find that no such letters had been written. He therefore was forced to spend several months working in a London printing house. But he returned home when a merchant named Denham offered him a good job as clerk and manager of Denham''s Philadelphia store. A few months after they landed, however, Denham died, and Keimer rehired Franklin as his manager.Eventually Franklin set up a printing shop with one of the men he had trained at Keimer''s, Hugh Meredith. Later he bought Meredith''s share and found himself in business alone. He "married" the girl whom he had courted before leaving for England, Deborah Read, and the two prospered. Franklin secured many valuable orders through his job as clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly.From his early years, Franklin constantly struggled to improve himself. This passion culminated in a plan to attain perfection in 13 weeks, by unlearning bad habits and acquiring the 13 virtues Franklin felt most important, one each week. He also outlined a perfect day, allotting each necessary activity its proper amount of time.But Franklin''s passion for improvement was not spent exclusively upon himself. Public projects to which he turned his attention included Philadelphia''s first public library, fire company, public academy, philosophical society, militia, defense system, and hospital. Besides these projects, he helped improve the city''s police system and its streets (which he advocated paving), and devised a more equitable tax system.The Autobiography ends as Franklin wins his first skirmish while serving as Pennsylvania''s agent in England. Thus his account brings the reader to the point at which Franklin''s activity becomes international in scope and the proper concern of professional historians.

Famous as a scientist, statesman, philosopher, businessman, and civic leader, Benjamin Franklin was also one of the most powerful and controversial American writers of his time. He has been a subject of intense debate ever since: to Matthew Arnold, he exemplified "victorious good sense"; to D. H. Lawrence, he was "the first dummy American." Franklin''s classic Autobiography, one of the great foundational works of American literature, is his last word on his most remarkable literary invention-his own invented persona, the original incarnation of the American success story. For almost thirty years, The Library of America has presented America''s best and most significant writing in acclaimed hardcover editions. Now, a new series, Library of America Paperback Classics, offers attractive and affordable books that bring The Library of America''s authoritative texts within easy reach of every reader. Each book features an introductory essay by one of a leading writer, as well as a detailed chronology of the author''s life and career, an essay on the choice and history of the text, and notes. The contents of this Paperback Classic are drawn from Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, & Later Writings, volume #37B in the Library of America series. It is joined in the series by a companion volume, #37A, Benjamin Franklin: Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body, & Early Writings. Both volumes were edited by J. A. Leo Lemay.

Meet Benjamin Franklin as you’ve never met him before . . . This hilarious collection includes the Founding Father’s satirical writings on farting, adultery, and other irreverent subjects you won’t find in your history books. A mention of flatulence might conjure up images of bratty high school boys or lowbrow comics. But one of the most eloquent—and least expected—commentators on the subject is Benjamin Franklin. The writings in Fart Proudly reveal the rogue who lived peaceably within the philosopher and statesman. Included are “The Letter to a Royal Academy”; “On Choosing a Mistress”; “Rules on Making Oneself Disagreeable”; and other jibes. Franklin’s irrepressible wit found an outlet in perpetrating hoaxes, attacking marriage and other sacred cows, and skewering the English Parliament. Reminding us of the humorous, irreverent side of this American icon, these essays endure as both hilarious satire and a timely reminder of the importance of a free press.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Milk Street, Boston, on January 6, 1706. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler who married twice, and of his seventeen children Benjamin was the youngest son. His schooling ended at ten, and at twelve he was bound apprentice to his brother James, a printer, who published the "New England Courant." To this journal he became a contributor, and later was for a time its nominal editor. But the brothers quarreled, and Benjamin ran away, going first to New York, and thence to Philadelphia, where he arrived in October, 1723. He soon obtained work as a printer, but after a few months he was induced by Governor Keith to go to London, where, finding Keith''s promises empty, he again worked as a compositor till he was brought back to Philadelphia by a merchant named Denman, who gave him a position in his business. On Denman''s death he returned to his former trade, and shortly set up a printing house of his own from which he published "The Pennsylvania Gazette," to which he contributed many essays, and which he made a medium for agitating a variety of local reforms. In 1732 he began to issue his famous "Poor Richard''s Almanac" for the enrichment of which he borrowed or composed those pithy utterances of worldly wisdom which are the basis of a large part of his popular reputation. In 1758, the year in which he ceased writing for the Almanac, he printed in it "Father Abraham''s Sermon," now regarded as the most famous piece of literature produced in Colonial America.