The First American

The First American PDF Author: H. W. Brands
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307754944
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 786

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Book Description
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this “thorough biography of ... America’s first Renaissance man” (The Washington Post) by the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War. "The authoritative Franklin biography for our time.” —Joseph J. Ellis, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding Brothers Wit, diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin's "life is one every American should know well, and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands" (The Dallas Morning News). From penniless runaway to highly successful printer, from ardently loyal subject of Britain to architect of an alliance with France that ensured America’s independence, Franklin went from obscurity to become one of the world’s most admired figures, whose circle included the likes of Voltaire, Hume, Burke, and Kant. Drawing on previously unpublished letters and a host of other sources, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands has written a thoroughly engaging biography of the eighteenth-century genius. A much needed reminder of Franklin’s greatness and humanity, The First American is a work of meticulous scholarship that provides a magnificent tour of a legendary historical figure, a vital era in American life, and the countless arenas in which the protean Franklin left his legacy. Look for H.W. Brands's other biographies: ANDREW JACKSON, THE MAN WHO SAVED THE UNION (Ulysses S. Grant), TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS (Franklin Roosevelt) and REAGAN.

The First American

The First American PDF Author: H. W. Brands
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307754944
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 786

Get Book

Book Description
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this “thorough biography of ... America’s first Renaissance man” (The Washington Post) by the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War. "The authoritative Franklin biography for our time.” —Joseph J. Ellis, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding Brothers Wit, diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin's "life is one every American should know well, and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands" (The Dallas Morning News). From penniless runaway to highly successful printer, from ardently loyal subject of Britain to architect of an alliance with France that ensured America’s independence, Franklin went from obscurity to become one of the world’s most admired figures, whose circle included the likes of Voltaire, Hume, Burke, and Kant. Drawing on previously unpublished letters and a host of other sources, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands has written a thoroughly engaging biography of the eighteenth-century genius. A much needed reminder of Franklin’s greatness and humanity, The First American is a work of meticulous scholarship that provides a magnificent tour of a legendary historical figure, a vital era in American life, and the countless arenas in which the protean Franklin left his legacy. Look for H.W. Brands's other biographies: ANDREW JACKSON, THE MAN WHO SAVED THE UNION (Ulysses S. Grant), TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS (Franklin Roosevelt) and REAGAN.

The First American

The First American PDF Author: H. W. Brands
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385495404
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 786

Get Book

Book Description
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this “thorough biography of ... America’s first Renaissance man” (The Washington Post) by the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War. "The authoritative Franklin biography for our time.” —Joseph J. Ellis, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Founding Brothers Wit, diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin's "life is one every American should know well, and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands" (The Dallas Morning News). From penniless runaway to highly successful printer, from ardently loyal subject of Britain to architect of an alliance with France that ensured America’s independence, Franklin went from obscurity to become one of the world’s most admired figures, whose circle included the likes of Voltaire, Hume, Burke, and Kant. Drawing on previously unpublished letters and a host of other sources, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands has written a thoroughly engaging biography of the eighteenth-century genius. A much needed reminder of Franklin’s greatness and humanity, The First American is a work of meticulous scholarship that provides a magnificent tour of a legendary historical figure, a vital era in American life, and the countless arenas in which the protean Franklin left his legacy.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin PDF Author: Phillips Russell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258841607
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This is a new release of the original 1926 edition.

The First Scientific American

The First Scientific American PDF Author: Joyce Chaplin
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465008852
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Famous, fascinating Benjamin Franklin -- he would be neither without his accomplishments in science. Joyce Chaplin's authoritative biography considers all of Franklin's work in the sciences, showing how, during the rise and fall of the first British empire, science became central to public culture and therefore to Franklin's success. Having demonstrated in his earliest experiments and observations that he could master nature, Franklin showed the world that he was uniquely suited to solve problems in every realm. In the famous adage, Franklin "snatched lightning from the sky and the scepter from the tyrants" -- in that order. The famous kite and other experiments with electricity were only part of Franklin's accomplishments. He charted the Gulf Stream, made important observations on meteorology, and used the burgeoning science of "political arithmetic" to make unprecedented statements about America's power. Even as he stepped onto the world stage as an illustrious statesman and diplomat in the years leading up to the American Revolution, his fascination with nature was unrelenting. Franklin was the first American whose "genius" for science qualified him as a genius in political affairs. It is only through understanding Franklin's full engagement with the sciences that we can understand this great Founding Father and the world he shaped.

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin PDF Author: Gordon S. Wood
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101200901
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
“I cannot remember ever reading a work of history and biography that is quite so fluent, so perfectly composed and balanced . . .” —The New York Sun “Exceptionally rich perspective on one of the most accomplished, complex, and unpredictable Americans of his own time or any other.” —The Washington Post Book World From the most respected chronicler of the early days of the Republic—and winner of both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes—comes a landmark work that rescues Benjamin Franklin from a mythology that has blinded generations of Americans to the man he really was and makes sense of aspects of his life and career that would have otherwise remained mysterious. In place of the genial polymath, self-improver, and quintessential American, Gordon S. Wood reveals a figure much more ambiguous and complex—and much more interesting. Charting the passage of Franklin’s life and reputation from relative popular indifference (his death, while the occasion for mass mourning in France, was widely ignored in America) to posthumous glory, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our country’s idea of itself.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin PDF Author: Edmund Sears Morgan
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300101621
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Draws on Franklin's extensive writings to provide a portrait of the statesman, inventor, and Founding Father.

Benjamin Franklin - "The First American"?

Benjamin Franklin - Author: Christian Imberi
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638582361
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, course: Transcendent Experience in American Literature, 5 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Benjamin Franklin is often called the “father“ of America, the fabulous American, or “the first American”, or as a anonymous reporter from 1856 wrote in theNew York Timesthat Franklin “was the incarnation of the true American character... Franklin was the true type of the pure, noble, republican feeling of America“(Huang p.31). Born as the son of a soap and candle maker in 1706 he then became one of the most famous Americans in his time and is even today well known, he is the embodiment of the American dream, from the dishwasher to the millionaire. Franklin was also an inventor, writer and philosopher, furthermore he was the first American who was international honoured and respected as politician and scientist. He was also “the only leading American who signed all four of the major documents that laid the foundation of the republic: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaties of Alliance (1778), the Peace Treaty between Great Britain and the United States (1783), and the Constitution of the United States (1787)” (Huang, p.37). But was is it that made him “the first American”? Which are the “American” attributes that Franklin embodies and in how far can one read these attributes and attitudes in Franklin’s autobiography and other writings? Was it his liberal and democratic sense, his belief in science and in progress that made him ahead of his time? Did his attributes shape the following generations and characterize the American Way even in nowadays? Is that the reason to say Benjamin Franklin is the first American? In his autobiography he describes his life in his own words and it is impressive how much attributes that are today considered to be American can be found autobiography and in some other writings of him. So the focus will be the search for similarities between Franklin’s “character” and the so called Americanness or thing that are supposed to American. The first very American thing about Benjamin Franklin is his way from rags to riches, it is also the first thing that comes to one’s mind when thinking about America. He fulfilled “the” American Dream. He was born as the son of a soap and candle maker and became one of the most famous Americans at his, and even still in our time. But of course his fame, and wealth didn’t fall from the sky, it was his work ethic, his self-reliance, his self-education, and his endurance that brought him that far. This work ethic, and endurance is very American, and an example for “Americanness”.

Benjamin Franklin in London

Benjamin Franklin in London PDF Author: George Goodwin
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300220243
Category : Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
An account of Franklin's British years.

Benjamin Franklin, American Genius

Benjamin Franklin, American Genius PDF Author: Brandon Marie Miller
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1613741308
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
Benjamin Franklin was a 17-year-old runaway when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1723. Yet within days he'd found a job at a local print shop, met the woman he would eventually marry, and even attracted the attention of Pennsylvania's governor. A decade later, he became a colonial celebrity with the publication of Poor Richard: An Almanack and would go on to become one of America's most distinguished Founding Fathers. Franklin established the colonies' first lending library, volunteer fire company, and postal service, and was a leading expert in the study of electricity. He represented the Pennsylvania colony in London but returned to help draft the Declaration of Independence. The new nation then named him Minister to France, where he helped secure financial and military aide for the breakaway republic. Author Brandon Marie Miller captures the essence of this exceptional individual through both his original writings and hands-on activities from the era. Readers will design and print an almanac cover, play a simple glass armonica (a Franklin invention), experiment with static electricity, build a barometer, and more. The text also includes a time line, glossary, Web and travel resources, and reading list for further study.

Young Benjamin Franklin

Young Benjamin Franklin PDF Author: Nick Bunker
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1101872802
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
In this new account of Franklin's early life, Pulitzer finalist Nick Bunker portrays him as a complex, driven young man who elbows his way to success. From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of forty-one, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge. Always trying to balance virtue against ambition, Franklin emerges as a brilliant but flawed human being, made from the conflicts of an age of slavery as well as reason. With archival material from both sides of the Atlantic, we see Franklin in Boston, London, and Philadelphia as he develops his formula for greatness. A tale of science, politics, war, and religion, this is also a story about Franklin's forebears: the talented family of English craftsmen who produced America's favorite genius.