From Publishers Weekly
This wonderful biography of an extraordinary man results from a perfect marriage of subject and scholar. Among the most senior of our senior historians, Yale professor emeritus Morgan (American Slavery, American Freedom, etc.) proves himself still at the height of his powers. While Franklin remains, as Morgan writes, elusive and hard to know because "it is so hard to distinguish his natural impulses from his principles," the author probably comes as close to understanding him as anyone can. Rather than focusing on Franklin's role as classic, representative American, Morgan instead gives us a portrait of his public life, almost a third of it spent abroad, in England and France, more than any comparable figure of his generation. In Morgan's hands, Franklin therefore turns out to be more cosmopolitan than provincial, more worldly than Pennsylvanian. He also shines in this biography as someone deeply committed to his fellow Americans and the nation they were creating. Many previous biographers have sought to explain how Franklin helped lay the foundations for a distinctive American mind and personality. Morgan instead takes us more into Franklin's thinking and activities as diplomat and politician and into the way his winning personality served his country so well at the moment it needed him. While suitably critical when Franklin deserves criticism, Morgan's bravura performance is nevertheless a buoyant appreciation of a man whose fame as aphorist in Poor Richard's Almanack and as the scientist who helped discover electricity have often obscured his devotion to the public good. It's hard to imagine a better life study of a man we've all heard about but who is barely known. 20 illus. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Through the simple admission that this biography is meant primarily to introduce Franklin to the general reading public, Morgan avoids the biographer's dilemma of choosing between a narrative focus or presenting a comprehensive history of a subject. He begins with an overview that seeks to educe Franklin's character through an examination of the principles and ideas of this early American Renaissance man as expressed across the board in the various parts of his life. Yet, it is not Franklin the Renaissance man, but rather Franklin the Founding Father of whom Morgan is writing, arguing persuasively that this was the role to which the statesman was most devoted. In telling this story, the author creates a vivid narrative, an adventure story of sorts, which grabs readers with the tale of his subject's part in the political developments of 18th-century America. Yet, the author never loses sight of the importance of the other aspects of the man's personality and the thoughts and actions of others toward him. This is the key to this biography's success: it engages readers' interest in the great drama of this fascinating man's life. Teens may well begin here, and have material enough, but this fascinating introduction could entice them to look further.Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DCCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Morgan (Sterling Professor of History, emeritus, Yale), the award-winning author of numerous books, including Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and America, here offers the best short biography of Franklin ever written. He is ideally suited to the task. For many years, he has chaired the administrative board that oversees the ongoing work on The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (Yale Univ., 36 volumes to date), making this the first biography whose author can claim to have read virtually everything ever written by or to Franklin. Without denying Franklin's flaws, Morgan expresses affection and admiration for his subject throughout. He argues forcefully that Franklin's chief goal was to live a "useful" life, showing that Franklin held public service above his lucrative career as a printer and the fame he achieved as a scientist. Morgan deftly shows how Franklin's desire to serve the public good occasionally led him to support ideas at variance with his personal views. The chief virtue of this book is also its chief flaw. Morgan's almost exclusive reliance on Franklin's papers gives the reader an unparalleled glimpse into Franklin's mind. Yet by keeping the story so closely tied to Franklin, the author sometimes gives too little attention to other persons and to the general social and political context. Moreover, he never discusses how his views compare with those of others, such as David McCullough (John Adams) and H.W. Brands (The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin). Nevertheless, the general reader will find this book to be a well-written, thoughtful appreciation of one of the Founding Fathers who did the most to shape his era and our own. Highly recommended for all public libraries.T.J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., NY Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In getting to know Franklin, the author relied on two sources: his own erudition cultivated over a distinguished career as a historian (Morgan has won the most prestigious prizes for works of American history), and The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, a monumental project of scholarship still in progress. Morgan adopts a chronological approach from which he often departs for expansive discussions of Franklin's occupational arenas--printing, morals, science, politics, and diplomacy--through which Franklin expressed his attitude toward life. That one's attitude eventually evolves to a settled view is probably true of every person, but perhaps it is expressed in no one more interestingly than in Franklin. A youthful flirtation with a philosophy of amoralism, Morgan relates, matured to Franklin's fundamental precept that one's life must be useful and that one should not give in to passions that would impede one's value to friends, to knowledge, and to country. An astute appraisal of a Founder, Morgan's work is less than a biography but more than a character profile, and will be of interest to history buffs. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Los Angeles Times
A biography of Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan breathes new life into core American values.


Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
[Distills] the . . . singularly eventful life of . . . Franklin down to . . . 300 pages of text, yet [gives] the great man . . . his due.


Thomas Fleming, The New York Sun
Spellbinding, . . . beautifully written. . . . We come away from this superb book admiring Franklin in a new, more profound way.


Louis P. Masur, Chicago Times Book Review
A luminous biography, . . . the essence of a remarkable life.


William F. Gavin, Washington Times
...[A] superb introduction to Franklin's...intellect, shrewdness, common-sense, good will, and...'innate affinity for people of all kinds.


Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs
...[C]oncise, excellent, and eminently readable...[A] book ...much like its hero: ...fluent,...engaging...self-effacing...[with] true breadth and scope.


New York Times Book Review
An eminent historian portrays Franklin as a magnetic extrovert. . . .


(Joseph J. Ellis, London Review of Books)
. . . . [A] book that crowns [Morgan’s] career. . . . [No] previous biograph[y] rivals Morgan's study for its grasp of Franklin's character.


Josephine Pacheco, The Key Reporter (Phi Beta Kappa)
"Morgan . . . brings his skill and knowledge to a thoughtful and well-written biography of a great man."


Jay Tolson, U.S. News and World Report
[An] excellent portrait . . . by the distinguished Yale historian Edmund Morgan.


Book Description
Benjamin Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a bestselling author, the country's first postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant, a diplomat, a ladies' man, and a moralist-and the most prominent celebrity of the eighteenth century. Franklin was, however, a man of vast contradictions, as Edmund Morgan demonstrates in this brilliant biography. A reluctant revolutionary, Franklin had desperately wished to preserve the British Empire, and he mourned the break even as he led the fight for American independence. Despite his passion for science, Franklin viewed his groundbreaking experiments as secondary to his civic duties. And although he helped to draft both the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, he had personally hoped that the new American government would take a different shape. Unraveling the enigma of Franklin's character, Morgan shows that he was the rare individual who consistently placed the public interest before his own desires. Written by one of our greatest historians, Benjamin Franklin offers a provocative portrait of America's most extraordinary patriot.


From the Publisher
Chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review and as a best book for 2002 by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, and Publishers Weekly, A finalist for the 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, A New York Times Bestseller

ANNOTATION

Nominated for the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award, Biography/Autobiography.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The greatest statesman of his age, Benjamin Franklin was also a pioneering scientist, a successful author, the first American postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant. In addition, he was a man of vast contradictions. This best-selling biography by one of our greatest historians offers a compact and provocative new portrait of America's most extraordinary patriot.

"Superb. . . . The best short biography of Franklin ever written. . . .[A] concise and beautifully written portrait of an American hero."-Gordon Wood, New York Review of Books; "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, London Review of Books; "Entrancing. . . . Lucid [and] entertaining."-Charles M. Carberry, USA Today; "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. . . . Illuminating."-Susan Dunn, New York Times Book Review; "A luminous biography."-Louis P. Masur, Chicago Tribune Book Review; "It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to find fault with this book."-Carol Berkin, New England Quarterly

Author Biography: Edmund S. Morgan, Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University, has written more than a dozen books. Cited as "one of America's most distinguished historians," he was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2000.

Chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review and as a best book for 2002 by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, and Publishers Weekly, A finalist for the 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, A New York Times Bestseller

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This wonderful biography of an extraordinary man results from a perfect marriage of subject and scholar. Among the most senior of our senior historians, Yale professor emeritus Morgan (American Slavery, American Freedom, etc.) proves himself still at the height of his powers. While Franklin remains, as Morgan writes, elusive and hard to know because "it is so hard to distinguish his natural impulses from his principles," the author probably comes as close to understanding him as anyone can. Rather than focusing on Franklin's role as classic, representative American, Morgan instead gives us a portrait of his public life, almost a third of it spent abroad, in England and France, more than any comparable figure of his generation. In Morgan's hands, Franklin therefore turns out to be more cosmopolitan than provincial, more worldly than Pennsylvanian. He also shines in this biography as someone deeply committed to his fellow Americans and the nation they were creating. Many previous biographers have sought to explain how Franklin helped lay the foundations for a distinctive American mind and personality. Morgan instead takes us more into Franklin's thinking and activities as diplomat and politician and into the way his winning personality served his country so well at the moment it needed him. While suitably critical when Franklin deserves criticism, Morgan's bravura performance is nevertheless a buoyant appreciation of a man whose fame as aphorist in Poor Richard's Almanack and as the scientist who helped discover electricity have often obscured his devotion to the public good. It's hard to imagine a better life study of a man we've all heard about but who is barely known. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Foreign Affairs

Morgan, one of the greatest living authorities on colonial America, has written a concise, excellent, and eminently readable biography. Franklin was the most accomplished of the country's founders. As a scientist and inventor he eclipses Jefferson, and none of the others matched his diplomatic experience and success. No American was better known or more widely admired in Europe. Franklin is the only man whose signature appears on all four of the founding documents of the American republic: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. 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. Moreover, he brilliantly sketches the outlines of Franklin's growing views while unobtrusively helping his readers grasp the intricacies of Pennsylvania politics in the 1750s, the swirling debates of the triumphant British Empire after 1760, and the evolving international situation during the American Revolution. Part of what made Franklin great was his genius for company — a genius that struck his contemporaries as exemplifying the finest qualities of the emerging American world. 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.

Library Journal

Morgan (Sterling Professor of History, emeritus, Yale), the award-winning author of numerous books, including Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and America, here offers the best short biography of Franklin ever written. He is ideally suited to the task. For many years, he has chaired the administrative board that oversees the ongoing work on The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (Yale Univ., 36 volumes to date), making this the first biography whose author can claim to have read virtually everything ever written by or to Franklin. Without denying Franklin's flaws, Morgan expresses affection and admiration for his subject throughout. He argues forcefully that Franklin's chief goal was to live a "useful" life, showing that Franklin held public service above his lucrative career as a printer and the fame he achieved as a scientist. Morgan deftly shows how Franklin's desire to serve the public good occasionally led him to support ideas at variance with his personal views. The chief virtue of this book is also its chief flaw. Morgan's almost exclusive reliance on Franklin's papers gives the reader an unparalleled glimpse into Franklin's mind. Yet by keeping the story so closely tied to Franklin, the author sometimes gives too little attention to other persons and to the general social and political context. Moreover, he never discusses how his views compare with those of others, such as David McCullough (John Adams) and H.W. Brands (The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin). Nevertheless, the general reader will find this book to be a well-written, thoughtful appreciation of one of the Founding Fathers who did the most to shape his era and our own. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-T.J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., NY

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Through the simple admission that this biography is meant primarily to introduce Franklin to the general reading public, Morgan avoids the biographer's dilemma of choosing between a narrative focus or presenting a comprehensive history of a subject. He begins with an overview that seeks to educe Franklin's character through an examination of the principles and ideas of this early American Renaissance man as expressed across the board in the various parts of his life. Yet, it is not Franklin the Renaissance man, but rather Franklin the Founding Father of whom Morgan is writing, arguing persuasively that this was the role to which the statesman was most devoted. In telling this story, the author creates a vivid narrative, an adventure story of sorts, which grabs readers with the tale of his subject's part in the political developments of 18th-century America. Yet, the author never loses sight of the importance of the other aspects of the man's personality and the thoughts and actions of others toward him. This is the key to this biography's success: it engages readers' interest in the great drama of this fascinating man's life. Teens may well begin here, and have material enough, but this fascinating introduction could entice them to look further.-Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews