Product Description
Pulled from his autobiography, this entertaining and thought-provoking book explores the innovative management principles Franklin pioneered and reveals how today's business owners and managers can use those principles effectively. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Intriguing read...
Read this book at the advice of my boss and wasn't disappointed at all...In practice and theory, very relevant to the rules of business today.I wish this was required reading in my company but one can only dream...I, for one, intend to implement some of the ideas (linking pay and performance especially) to see what kinds of results I get...

If you are in a management postion, you need this book.
Blaine has given us the essential principles that are the essence of the business man, Ben Franklin.We are very familiar with many of the aspects of Franklin's life. We forget that, above all,his sucesses came from important principles he utilized.These are still valid today.It is about time someone has addressed the business side of Franklin. This is a MUST READ for everyone in business.

Outstanding Read
I think it is important to understand who writes these reviews and where they are coming from.I am a Team Leader for a 70 member real estate firm.Therefore anything that can help me better manage 70 independent contractors is well worth the read.I found this book to be exceptional because (1) it kept my interest peaked, (2) it contains a lot of great quotes and theories, (3) it reinforced what I am doing right and (4) more importantly, provided me with food-for-thought about how I can do a lot more things better.I intend to use Ben Franklins method of concentrating on just one "trait" per week and then grade myself on how well I advanced the concept during the week until I work my way through all 12 Rules.Should be an interesting couple of months.I highly recommend this book to anyone in management or who is interested in business.

Synthesis of good management practices, not history
This book is an interesting read, as it uses Ben Franklin, one of the most celebrated characters in history, to give substance to certain abstract concepts relating to good managers and leaders.

In many ways, it is a very pragmatic book, even Machiavellian.For example, Franklin made sure people had an impression of his being a hard worker, by keeping his lights on till very late and by making sure people saw him leaving his work very late.Translated to today's world, such a rule could be translated into the realm of "face time".Like this one, the rules in the book are timeless.

My only concern about the book is the limited historical scope of it.It focuses on the period before Franklin got involved with politics and the revolution, so the more interesting parts of his life are not present.When I grabbed this book, I was expecting both a management lesson and a history one; forget the history one.

One should keep in mind the title of the book: 12 Rules of MANAGEMENT.That is very accurate, and it is clear that those rules are focused on management and NOT leadership.If you are looking for good manager advice, this is a very good book.

Understandable to a new business venturer
After reading McCormick's book, being a first year business student, I had no trouble at all understanding the points made in each chapter.I thought the overviews at the end of each chapter made the vital points clear and helped me follow along with what McCormick was trying to convey to his readers.

Not having too much business experience, I can say that after reading this book, business is definitely something I want to look further into. ... Read more

Product Description
This little boardbook uses approximately 200 words to introduce young children to one of America's most fascinating historical figures. Franklin was the only man to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris. Stephanie Britt's gently humorous illustrations make this boardbook fun for the young child. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Story of Benjamin Franklin
My almost 2-year-old really enjoys this series of books. This one is a favorite out of the series. I like that I can share a little history with him as an introduction to something other than letters, numbers, colors, etc. I was shocked that he enjoyed it so much. We received it as a gift and have since purchased others by the author. I'm looking forward to seeing how he "grows" with this book as he has learned to appreciate books differently as he gets "older". ... Read more

Product Description
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

a renaissance man
It's amazing to think of all the things Franklin accomplished during his life. He was a scientist whose famous famous kite and lightning discovery was recently verified as plausible on an episode of Mythbusters (it had to do with the type of string used back then being able to conduct electricity). He was a political thinker and Founding Father, helping create a constitution that became an inspiration to the world. He was an inventor. He was a successful newspaper man. Any one of these accomplished areas would mark a man who was very successful, but he did all of these and many others. He pursued anything that interested him, and he contributed his own observations and innovations to all of them.

An amazing life and a great man
Ben Franklin was an amazing person. His thoughts were original, and he loved to experiment and study everything around him. His lifestory is not only entertaining to read but it's a reminder for me to get serious and get to work on meeting some of my own goals. It's the best autobiography I've read.

Inspiring
Franklin was a brilliant man, a real Renaissance Man. His writing style is great--makes you feel like he's talking right to you. I found it inspiring. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
No one could have thought up a more amazing character than the living, breathing Benjamin Franklin. He was everything from a "soapmaker, candle dipper, and printer" to a "postmaster, political activist, community reformer, revolutionary, statesman, international diplomat, and first great citizen of a nation which he, as much or more than anyone, helped to create."

Acclaimed children's author-illustrator Cheryl Harness through her true-to-life paintings and storytelling-style narrative, along with a generous sampling of Franklin's own words, lets you "walk in his shoes" as you discover just how truly remarkable Benjamin Franklin was. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Disappointing text!
Author-Illustrator Cheryl Harness does a fantastic job with the artwork in this book. Each page is covered with gorgeous, colorful, relevant pictures from top to bottom.

Unfortunately, even the wonderful illustrations cannot bring the horribly dry text to life. It reads like a text book or encyclopedia entry. Franklin's life was anything but dull. Yet this story of his life drags and bores readers.

I recommend Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Many Talents from the Time For Kids Biographies series as a much better written and more interesting alternative to The Remarkable Benjamin Franklin.

Appears very good for a child
I personally did not read it.I purchased it for a small child and feel
that it would be easy for her to read and learn some important US history. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Give em Hell Franklin!
Great book.Anecdotal wisdom that is truly timeless.I'd recommend it for just about any situation where you need a quick pick me up.

A nice book but with only four Rockwell Illustrations
This is a large format book, containing the text of each of the 26 issues of the almanac that Franklin published, minus the meteorological and astronomical information and a few factual articles.To boost sales the publisher has added four Norman Rockwell color prints.In my opinion, the book is good enough to stand on its own merits, without the need sell it as a Rockwell illustrated version.The book retains Franklin's wit and wisdom.It is nice to be able to see the whole of Franklin's almanac, instead of just reading excerpts, quips and sayings that have been taken from it.

The edition that I have is a hardcover reprint of the original Limited Edition version.According to the publisher it contains everything that the original had, but for a small fraction of the price of the Limited Edition. (Only 1500 Limited Editions were published, probably with real Rockwell prints instead of reproductions and the limited edition was therefore priced accordingly.)

A wealth of timeless knowledge
This book holds easily digestable nuggets of wisdom from one of the most influential men in history. This should be required reading in our schools

Wit and Wisdom Indeed
What can you say about this book.........other than it's a collection of timeless sayings and thoughts from the mind of one of America's original great thinkers. This should be required reading (in all formats)for high school students if for no other reason than to have them explore humor without 4-letter words. Once read, some of these bits of wisdom will stay with you for life. Enjoy and pass along. You will be a part of re-braining this country!

Sage Advice
Though Benjamin Franklin never suggests that all the words are his, his assembly of commonly used phrases and sayings provides the reader with material that will make them think. Do remember, that this doesn't read like a novel. ... Read more

Product Description
“Dray captures the genius and ingenuity of Franklin’s scientific thinking and then does something even more fascinating: He shows how science shaped his diplomacy, politics, and Enlightenment philosophy.”
–Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Today we think of Benjamin Franklin as a founder of American independence who also dabbled in science. But in Franklin’s day, the era of Enlightenment, long before he was an eminent statesman, he was famous for his revolutionary scientific work. Pulitzer Prize finalist Philip Dray uses the evolution of Franklin’s scientific curiosity and empirical thinking as a metaphor for America’s struggle to establish its fundamental values. He recounts how Franklin unlocked one of the greatest natural mysteries of his day, the seemingly unknowable powers of lightning and electricity. Rich in historical detail and based on numerous primary sources, Stealing God’s Thunder is a fascinating original look at one of our most beloved and complex founding fathers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Ben
One of the best books I have ever read and I recommend it.The book came out clean and prompt.Thanks!

Patents and Franklin

A recently published book may be of some interest to the intellectual property community."Stealing God's Thunder" details the history of Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod, and goes on to sketch Ben's role in the invention of the United States' system of government.

In a few places, the book touches on subjects which are of particular interest to the intellectual property professional.

Eschewing a patent, Franklin published a complete description of his lightning rod invention in "Poor Richard's Almanac" in November 1753.Much to our delight, the author includes the entire text of the article in his book, on page 91.The Poor Richard article is entitled, "How to Secure Houses, etc., from Lightning."

In his "Epilogue," the author makes the following statement:
"Benjamin Franklin's refusal to patent his `instrument so new' likely contributed to the competitive free-for-all that began to characterize lightening rod design, manufacture,and sales within a few decades of his death."
This is so wrong on so many levels I hardly know where to begin.Dray seems to say that because Franklin did not obtain a patent on his invention, the market forces did not apply to Franklin's invention.Why is this the case?Also, why "a few decades" when a patent's term was generally limited at the time to 14 years.And what does his death have do with it when the rod was published in 1753 and Franklin lived until 1790?

However, Dray does not confine himself to the lightning rod.He also discusses the invention of the famous "Franklin stove."In discussing the stove the author describes Franklin's philosophy toward patents:"As he would with all his inventions, Franklin, although he stood to profit from the sales of the stove, did not apply for a patent.He believed that products of the human imagination belonged to no one person, and should be shared by all."

In this we are reminded of the comments of Rosalyn Yalow, a physicist who, together with Soloman A. Berson, a physician, developed radioimmunassay (RIA).On receiving the Nobel Prize, Yalow said, "In my day scientists did not always think of things as being patentable.We made a scientific discovery.Once it was published it was open to the world."Fortunately, today's scientists may take advantage of the statutory invention
Registration (SIR). For further details, see, "Rosalyn Yalow's Patent and H.R. 1127" in "The Law Works," January, 1996, at page 17 (the predecessor to the present publication.)

Page 1



One further aspect of the book may be of particular interest to the intellectual property community, and that is the aspect of the patents of the colonies and the States.Remember, Franklin's rod was published in 1753 and the United States Constitution was not ratified until 1789 and the first federal patent law was not enacted until 1790.As Dray notes about Franklin's refusal to patent his inventions, on page 37 "Besides its commendable altruism, this philosophy probably saved him from a tremendous amount of aggravation.Anyone seeking to patent a new mechanical innovation in the New World would need to secure it in each colony individually..."

This is further complicated by the fact that after the Revolution and before the adoption of the Constitution the government took the form of the Confederation, turning the colonies into States.A number of patents were issued both by the colonies and the States. Some examples of these appear in the Twelfth Census of the United States in 1900 Vol. X, Part IV, page 75 and is quoted in Deller's Walker on Patent's 2nd Ed at pages 53 through 58:


Year Inventor Invention Term

CONNECTICUT
1717 Edward Hinman Making molasses from cornstalks 10 years
1783 Benjamin Hanks Self-winding clock 14 years

NEW YORK
1787 John Fitch Steam Boat

NEW HAMPSHIRE
1786 Benj. Dearborn Printing Press 14 years
1789 Oliver Evans Elevator 7 years

PENNSYLVANIA
1717 Thomas Masters Cleaning, curing, and refining Indian corn 14 years

MARYLAND
1787 Oliver Evans Steam Carriage 14 years


In conclusion, "Stealing God's Thunder" is an interesting light read for the technically and historically minded intellectual property professional.

Benjamin Franklin, the scientist
Stealing God's Thunder by Philip Dray is extremely well-written.Unlike many biographies of Franklin, it focuses on his science first and his role as a founding father second.This way of characterizing Franklin's life was more interesting than writing about him as a politician first and scientist second.What is most interesting is the influence that Franklin's science had on his politics and on his philosophy.Dray wrote about complex subjects without ever becoming too wordy and overall the book was extremely readable.
Some of Franklin's most interesting work was put into small inventions rather than large ideas.Franklin said that the armonica, a device that spun glass to make music, was his favorite invention.Although Franklin did important work linking lightning and electricity, and as a proponent of lightning rods, his small inventions were extremely interesting as well.Franklin learned a great deal about electricity during his life and this allowed the next generation of scientists to build on his discoveries.He also challenged the views of Christianity, while still believing in God and remaining religious throughout his life.Franklin believed in the power of reason and he thought that this did not conflict with belief in God.Franklin is one of the most interesting characters of the American Revolution and the Enlightenment.

A Patent Lawyer Speaks
I am a registered patent agent and a retired patent attorney, so this review is slanted from the view of the patent professional. "Stealing God's Thunder" details the history of Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod, and goes on to sketch Ben's role in the invention of the United States' system of government.

In a few places, the book touches on subjects which are of particular interest to the intellectual property professional.

Eschewing a patent, Franklin published a complete description of his lightning rod invention in "Poor Richard's Almanac" in November 1753.Much to our delight, the author includes the entire text of the article in his book, on page 91.The Poor Richard article is entitled, "How to Secure Houses, etc., from Lightning."

Further, in his "Epilogue," the author makes the following statement: "Benjamin Franklin's refusal to patent his `instrument so new' likely contributed to the competitive free-for-all that began to characterize lightening rod design, manufacture,and sales within a few decades of his death."
This is so wrong on so many levels I hardly know where to begin.Dray seems to say that because Franklin did not obtain a patent on his invention, the market forces did not apply to Franklin's invention.Why is this the case?Also, why "a few decades" when a patent's term was generally limited at the time to 14 years.You will see evidence of this later on in the review.And what does his death have do with it when the rod was published in 1753 and Franklin lived until 1790?

However, Dray does not confine himself to the lightning rod.He also discusses the invention of the famous "Franklin stove," inter alia.In discussing the stove the author describes Franklin's philosophy toward patents:"As he would with all his inventions, Franklin, although he stood to profit from the sales of the stove, did not apply for a patent.He believed that products of the human imagination belonged to no one person, and should be shared by all."

In this we are reminded of the comments of Rosalyn Yalow, a physicist who, together with Soloman A. Berson, a physician, developed radioimmunassay (RIA).On receiving the Nobel Prize, Yalow said, "In my day scientists did not always think of things as being patentable.We made a scientific discovery.Once it was published it was open to the world."Fortunately, today's scientists may take advantage of the Statutory Invention
Registration (SIR). For further details, see, "Rosalyn Yalow's Patent and H.R. 1127" in "The Law Works," January, 1996, at page 17.
One further aspect of the book may be of particular interest to the intellectual property community, and that is the aspect of the patents of the colonies and the States.Remember, Franklin's rod was published in 1753 and the United States Constitution was not ratified until 1789 and the first federal patent law was not enacted until 1790.As Dray notes about Franklin's refusal to patent his inventions, on page 37 "Besides its commendable altruism, this philosophy probably saved him from a tremendous amount of aggravation.Anyone seeking to patent a new mechanical innovation in the New World would need to secure it in each colony individually..."

This is further complicated by the fact that after the Revolution and before the adoption of the Constitution the government took the form of the Confederation, turning the colonies into States.A number of patents were issued both by the colonies and the States. Some examples of these appear in the Twelfth Census of the United States in 1900 Vol. X, Part IV, page 75 and is quoted in Deller's Walker on Patent's 2nd Ed at pages 53 through 58:


Year Inventor Invention Term

CONNECTICUT
1717 Edward Hinman Making molasses from cornstalks 10 years
1783 Benjamin Hanks Self-winding clock 14 years

NEW YORK
1787 John Fitch Steam Boat

NEW HAMPSHIRE
1786 Benj. Dearborn Printing Press 14 years
1789 Oliver Evans Elevator 7 years

PENNSYLVANIA
1717 Thomas Masters Cleaning, curing, and refining Indian corn 14 years

MARYLAND
1787 Oliver Evans Steam Carriage 14 years


In conclusion, "Stealing God's Thunder" is an interesting light read for the technically and historically minded intellectual property professional.

Ben Franklin's Favorite Invention, the Armonica.
From 1760 to 1766, Ben Franklin lived in England as a gentleman scholar with his son, William, who studied law.While there, he invented "a homespun musical instrument" he called 'armonica.' which he always claimed to be his favorite invention.It was a stand-alone contraption in which glass disks were turned in a treadle and rubbed gently with the performer's fingers, which he kept moistened with a damp sponge."The musical method of rubbing fingers on the rims of glasses or bowls filled with water appeared in Europe in the late Middle Ages; Galileo, himself the son of a musician, experimented with it."

This era also produced the piano.The armonica could be the primitive precursor to the organ (a drawing of which is shown in this book); it had such soft, subtle tones it could not compete with the piano and was never used in an orchestra."Its haunting tone and deep sustain did have a numbing effect on listeners, so much so that it was later used by Franz Mesmer and other healers to put patients into a trance."Mozart wrote an armonica composition called "Adagio for Glass Harmonica, Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello' which he even performed in Vienna, playing the Viola.Franklin wrote one musical composition, "Quartet in F Major" (also known as "The Open String Quarter") for the violin.

He was a music enthusiast with a music room at his Philadelphia home which held his daughter's harpsichord."He and Sally played duets [he on the armonica], some classical pieces, but mostly the Scottish folk ballads Franklin liked."Thousands of armonicas were built and sold, but its popularity was of brief duration.Thomas Penn, one of William Penn's sons who had control over the state of Pennsylvania at that time, was heard to complain that Franklin was wasting his time on "philosophical matters and musical performances on glasses."

Not only was he famous for his "revolutionary scientific work, especially his experiments with lightning rods and electricity," he stirred up a controvrsy about evolution."In Franklin's time, the study of the earth's oldest living things, later known as paleontology, was just emerging as an area of scientific inquiry" when he became involved in 1764 concerning a salt marsh called Big Bone Lick on the Ohio River, forty miles south of present-day Cincinnati.Bones were found there of "mastodons, elephant-like creatures with heavy coats and huge upward-curving tusks that are said to have appeared anywhere between about 20 million and 3.5 million years ago, and survived until as recently as 10,000 years ago."This new curiosity raised the question of extinction, "the most disturbing discovery which upset even the "Newtonian universe."

He explains the legacy of the mythical creatures, the cyclops and the unicorn.'The cyclops' solitary eye was suggested by the gaping proboscis cavity of extinct dwarf elephants; the unicorn legend arose from the fossilized tusks of elephants and rhinoceroses, which, prized for their magical and medicinal virtues, were traded both by the ancients and in medieval Europe."

Franklin was involved in this scientific debate "that was one of the most stimulating of the Enlightenment" the question of the age of earth and of living things, including man.Like the arguments about lightning rods "presumption," this inquiry challenged long-received ideas about the relationship between God and man, and went so far as to call into question the biblical version of Genesis and Creation."Extinction was a heavy concept "and to pursue it brought one square against not only prevailing views of God's kingdom but the accepted wisdom about the age of earth itself."

Franklin published in his 'Poor Richard's Almanac' "some excerpts from a popular chronology of the history of commerce that dated the [Biblical] Flood at 2348 B.C.,...likely reprinted the material chiefly for its comical fastidiousness about a number of pseudo-momentous dates in human history, such as the invention of playing cards (1391) and the first silk stockings worn by a king (1547).

In 1712, Cotton Mather reported to the Royal Society that a tooth weighing more than four pounds and a thigh bone seventeen feet in length had been unearthed near Albany, New York; he asssumed that the remains were those of a giant man who had perished in the Great Flood.African slaves in America were likely the first to point out that the bones unearthed at sites in New York and Virginia resembled those of the elephant."In the nineteenth century Georges Cuvier would lay the formal groundwork for paleontology, and Charles Darwin's therories of evolution and natural selection."America's first museum of fossils and paleontological curiosities, including mastodon relics, would be operated by the Philadelphia artist Charles Willson Peale, in conjunction with the American Philosophical Society."

In 1774, Franklin was publicly accused of revealing to his contacts in Boston that "Britain would likely need to dispatch troops to North America" and was stripped of his office of postmaster general of the colonies.His reputation tarnished, and his usefulness in London, now weakened, he sailed home in March 1775.

In 1806, Thomas Jefferson (then President of the United States), "upon the return of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from exploring the Louisiana Territory ...dispatched Clark to Big Bone Lick to collect additional relics, which he then stored in the East Room of the White House."

Philip Dray previously wrote the multi-award winning AT THE HANDS OF PERSONS UNKNOWN: THE LYNCHING OF BLACK AMERICA which also was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. ... Read more

Product Description
A funny, entertaining introduction to Ben Franklin and his many inventions, including the story of how he created the "magic square." A magic square is a box of nine numbers arranged so that any line of three numbers adds up to the same number, including on the diagonal! Teachers and kids will love finding out about this popular teaching tool that is still used in elementary schools today!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

"Magically magic"
Very highly recommended, this Step 4 book that comes with longer paragraphs for ready readers grades 2-3 introduces kids to Benjamin Franklin, one of the greatest figure in the American history - his life and his many accomplishments through humorous texts and vivid illustrations. It starts with Ben as a curious and inventive kid, to his famous newspaper (The Pennsylvania Gazette), his Almanac as well as his well-known quotes such as "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". BEN FRANKLIN AND THE MAGIC SQUARES also reveals many inventions that are attributed to him and adds dimensions to the Ben Franklin whom I simply know as a great writer who helped Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Over the years, he also started America's first library, first fire station, first hospital and when he was a clerk for the Assembly, he invented the magic squares. I am very happy that my kids get to know this founding father first from the book: his greatness is fully humanized and the kids also get to meet his cute squirrel pet, Skugg. In one book, kids learn good English,great American hero and also amazing math - Franklin's magic square that the sum in any vertical, horizontal and diagonal row and colume will all add up to the same number - 15! This book, like what Ben shouted, is itself "magically magic".

Too much slang and "super smart" language
After reading the book on Lincoln's hat and Washington and his dogs, I looked forward to this book. Unfortunately, someone made the decision to make it "cool" and the language is not what I'm teaching my son. Old Ben was many things, but I think the label "super smart" would make him roll over in his grave.
Into the Goodwill bin.

Great Series!
My second grader who is a struggling reader had no problem with this book. He really enjoyed reading it. He was amazed at how much Ben Franklin accomplished, even at a young age. It inspired him to create his own invention book. I guess we will be buying more books in this series.

ben franklin and the magic squares
Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares
Author: Frank Murphy

Reviewed by: Brianna-a Stockbrideg Central School 3rd Grader
***


This book is about Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin was a very successful inventor. Ben invented: flippers in 1717, the Franklin stove in 1742, and found out that lightning was made of electricity. He all so started: America's first library, America's first fire station, and first hospital too he even helped Thomas Jefferson write and rewrite the declaration of Independence in 1776.
There is narration through out the book and on every page there is information. There is very little text so it is easy to read. The book is told as a story it starts when he is a boy and goes through his life. I like this book because it gives a lot of information. I recommend this book to children who would like to learn about Benjamin Franklin.So read the book or you will be missing out!!!

Awesome book!!!
I love this book! It introduced me to magic squares. Sometimes they're hard but not always. I read the book in 3rd grade. We were doing math groups and Mrs. Wrigely said" Today we are doing Magic squares."
What is a magic square?" I asked.
"It is 9 cubes that all have to equal the same number." Mrs. Wrigely
And that's how I was introduced to magic squares. I recommend this book for kids 6 and above. I think that because some words may be a little challenging for kids that are 5 or 4.


Mitchell S. 4th grade
... Read more

Product Description
Writer, inventor, diplomat, businessman, musician, scientist, humorist, and civic leader are only a few of the hats Franklin wore.Edwin S. Gaustad presents a balanced account of Franklin's life, emphasizing Franklin's character and personality and quoting extensively from Franklin's own writings. ... Read more

Product Description
This title is intended for ages 3 to 6 years. Young readers will enjoy discovering the life of Benjamin Franklin on their own through humorous watercolors and informative text. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Left something to be desired
Although laced with facts it posed no new ideas and a majority of the reading was difficult due to confusion on which Franklin was being refered to. the Inclusion of the letters and speaches in the back was very informitive but if you are truly interested go to the library and just look up the such for yourself. All in all i found it to just be a sophisticated report and not anything particularly new or interesting, if you are interested in this subject get the Autobiographies.

It is for the history buffs!
Benjamin and William Franklin, Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist is a very informative book.This book shows how a father and son can go from loving one another to hating each other. This book goes threw thesteps that Ben and Will took throughout their lives to make them become whothey were.The author, Sheila L. Skemp, breaks down both individuals lifeto show you how they could have been in the opposite shoes in the outcome.

The author starts out with a lot of facts about both men intheir younger years.Showing how they grew up and became adults withreally very different upbringings.Then she tells how the two men workedtogether throughout most of their lives up until the Revolutionary War. She shows how the held similar government jobs and liked similar pasttimes.She then goes on to sum up the choices they made and how thispersuaded each one to become either a patriot or a loyalist. SheilaL. Skemp uses many facts to back her writing decisions.She also includesa complete thirty-one pages of documents.These documents are anythingfrom letters, to speeches, to articles from newspapers.She also tells,throughout the book, when to refer to these documents to be able to keep inmind what the actual reason for different events were.She also placed atime line in the back to allow you to keep the time of the eventsstrait.

Although this is a very decent book about history, therewere a few items I did not like about it.In some parts throughout thebook telling which Franklin the author was talking about was difficult. The wording used in many places was confusing in telling the difference. This making the time spent reading a bit lengthy because of the time spentback reading to find out which Franklin she was talking about.Also due toall the facts some parts were a bit boring, but for the person who likes toread about history the facts are essential.

For the person likinghistory and wanting to understand the Revolutionary War a little betterthis is a must read.This gives a great example of the splitting betweenfamilies when we cut our ties to England.This books shows how twodifferent people lived in these times.It shows how life back then was notthat easy and how these two important people in our history did what theyneeded to better themselves.

This was an interesting book, even forme, and I do not even like to read about history.It was very educationaland helpful. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of the eighteenth-century printer, publisher, inventor, scientist, and statesman who played an influential role in the early history of the United States. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great book.:)
We ordered several Ben Franklin books for my niece's 4th grade project, but this one was her favorite and the only one she really needed.It has tons of info and is written in a way that's interesting for kids.Cute pictures, etc.

Very Well Done
The book is an easy read, and kids would enjoy learning the bits of science and history included.

Fifth Grade Teacher
I have a half class set of this book, along with others in the series.I use this as a class assigned book, and have found it to be an excellent way to start the year.The writing is engaging, entertaining and informative. We end each week's reading with a corner book talk which always proves lively and fun.

Great subject for a children book.
Great subject for a children book. I got this series of books for my daughter and she really enjoyes reading them. Great read and educational too.

Great fun!
I read this book to my kids and they were completely engaged from cover to cover. Wonderful information is packed into this entertaining book with great illustrations. This book inspired several discussions and projects in our house and we all agree it is a must have for any home library. ... Read more

Product Description
A generous selection of writings that brings to life the attractive, complex, and guileful genius of the most celebrated American of his age

It takes a very inclusive anthology to encompass the protean personality and range of interests of Benjamin Franklin, but The Portable Benjamin Franklin succeeds as no collection has. In addition to the complete Autobiography, the volume contains about 100 of Franklin’s major writings—essays, journalism, letters, political tracts, scientific observations, proposals for the improvement of civic and personal life, literary bagatelles, and private musings. The selections are reprinted in their entirety and organized chronologically within six sections that represent the full range of Franklin’s temperament. The result is a zestful read for Franklin scholars and anyone wanting to know and enjoy this American icon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Early to bed, early to raise..."
I give this book a five, not just because I got the product on time, but mostly because it is an American patriot's own account of his life...worth the price of admission. ... Read more

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Es Benjamin Franklin un hombre que tiene, si pudieramos hablar en terminos musicales, un tono asordinado, y si pudieramos hablar en matices, un tono gris, En su vida no hay esas explosiones de energia sublime, ni esos momentos que sintetizan y hacen florecer un alma humana; a lo largo de toda la suya hay un tono, medio y sostenido, sin subidas ni bajadas bruscas, y al que no se asocia facilmente la idea de brillo ni la de excepcion. Es un hombre que se parece a todo el mundo, todos se pueden sentir projimos suyos, es, si no hubiera un poco de contradiccion en la palabra, ''el genio del sentido comun''. Este hombre es Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin nacio y vivio en el siglo XVIII, casi con el siglo; nace en 1706, y muere en 1790, y esta mezclado muy estrechamente a algunos de los mas grandes acontecimientos de ese tiempo, Nacio de unos emigrantes ingleses pobres, en la ciudad de Boston, en los Estados U nidos, en una modestisima casa de madera, con su chimenea para el riguroso invierno de la Nueva Inglaterra, de muy poco, espacio interior. El es un puritano de Boston. Los puritanos eran una secta protestante que mantenia una actitud de relativa disidencia ante la iglesia oficial de Inglaterra, especialmente en materia de moral. Eran gentes sumamente austeras, y pensaban que era el deber de todo cristiano llevar una vida lo mas conforme posible con los ideales de simplicidad, de pobreza, de desprendimiento del cristianismo primitivo, Esto lo aplicaban en su vida ordinaria, que era simple, monotona, laboriosa y entregada a la penitencia, El dia domingo se reservaba al servicio del Senor, se reunian en la casa, nadie podia trabajar y el padre leia la Biblia para toda la familia. Cada uno de los hijos debia dedicarse a un trabajo que le produjera el sustento, y habia que aspirar a no incurrir en ninguno de los pecados del Decalogo ni en ninguna infraccion al codigo moral. ... Read more

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Named "one of the best books of 2006" by The New York Sun

Described by Carl Van Doren as "a harmonious human multitude," Benjamin Franklin was the most famous American of his time, of perhaps any time. His life and careers were so varied and successful that he remains, even today, the epitome of the self-made man. Born into a humble tradesman's family, this adaptable genius rose to become an architect of the world's first democracy, a leading light in Enlightenment science, and a major creator of what has come to be known as the American character. Journalist, musician, politician, scientist, humorist, inventor, civic leader, printer, writer, publisher, businessman, founding father, and philosopher, Franklin is a touchstone for America's egalitarianism.

The first volume traces young Franklin's life to his marriage in 1730. It traces the New England religious, political, and cultural contexts, exploring previously unknown influences on his philosophy and writing, and attributing new writings to him. After his move to Philadelphia, made famous in his Autobiography, Franklin became the Water American in London in 1725, where he was welcomed into that city's circle of freethinkers. Upon his return to the colonies, the sociable Franklin created a group of young friends, the Junto, devoted to self-improvement and philanthropy. He also started his own press and began to edit and publish the Pennsylvania Gazette, which became the most popular American paper of its day and the first to consistently feature American news.

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Described as "a harmonious human multitude," Ben Franklin's life and careers were so varied and successful that he remains, even today, the epitome of the self-made man. Born into a humble tradesman's family, this adaptable genius rose to become an architect of the world's first democracy, a leading light in Enlightenment science, and a major creator of what has come to be known as the American character. Journalist, musician, politician, scientist, humorist, inventor, civic leader, printer, writer, publisher, businessman, founding father, philosopher—a genius in all fields and a bit of a magician in some.

Volume 3 begins in the year 1748, when Franklin was known in Pennsylvania as clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly and in the Middle Colonies as the printer and editor of Poor Richard's Almanac and the Pennsylvania Gazette, the best-known colonial publications. By the middle of 1757, where this volume leaves off, he had become famous in Pennsylvania as a public-spirited citizen and soldier in the conflicts of the Seven Years' War; well known throughout America as a writer, politician, and the most important theorist and patriot of the American empire; and renowned in the western world as a natural philosopher. This volume tells the story of that transformation.

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Combines humorous quotes with anecdotes about Franklin's inventions and innovations, including newspaper editorials, the Navy, bifocals, Daylight Saving Time, the Franklin stove, and shock treatment. ... Read more

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Most of us know--at least we've heard--that Benjamin Franklin conducted some kind of electrical experiment with a kite. What few of us realize--and what this book makes powerfully clear--is that Franklin played a major role in laying the foundations of modern electrical science and technology. This fast-paced book, rich with historical details and anecdotes, brings to life Franklin, the large international network of scientists and inventors in which he played a key role, and their amazing inventions. We learn what these early electrical devices--from lights and motors to musical and medical instruments--looked like, how they worked, and what their utilitarian and symbolic meanings were for those who invented and used them. Against the fascinating panorama of life in the eighteenth century, Michael Brian Schiffer tells the story of the very beginnings of our modern electrical world.

The earliest electrical technologies were conceived in the laboratory apparatus of physicists; because of their surprising and diverse effects, however, these technologies rapidly made their way into many other communities and activities. Schiffer conducts us from community to community, showing how these technologies worked as they were put to use in public lectures, revolutionary experiments in chemistry and biology, and medical therapy. This story brings to light the arcane and long-forgotten inventions that made way for many modern technologies--including lightning rods (Franklin's invention), cardiac stimulation, xerography, and the internal combustion engine--and richly conveys the complex relationships among science, technology, and culture. ... Read more

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A biography examining the life of Benjamin Franklin and his leadership as a statesman, scientist, inventor, and printer. Written in graphic-novel format. ... Read more