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Ben & Me
- In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
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Publisher's summary
New York Times bestselling author Eric Weiner follows in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, mining his life for inspiring and practical lessons in a book that’s part biography, part travelogue, part personal prescription.
Ben Franklin lingers in our lives and in our imaginations. One of only two non-presidents to appear on US currency, Franklin was a founder, statesman, scientist, inventor, diplomat, publisher, humorist, and philosopher. He believed in the American experiment, but Ben Franklin’s greatest experiment was…Ben Franklin. In that spirit of betterment, Eric Weiner embarks on an ambitious quest to live the way Ben lived.
Not a conventional biography, Ben & Me is a guide to living and thinking well, as Ben Franklin did. It is also about curiosity, diligence, and, most of all, the elusive goal of self-improvement. As Weiner follows Franklin from Philadelphia to Paris, Boston to London, he attempts to uncover Ben’s life lessons, large and small. We learn how to improve a relationship with someone by inducing them to do a favor for you—a psychological phenomenon now known as The Ben Franklin Effect. We learn about the printing press (the Internet of its day), early medicine, diplomatic intrigue and, of course, electricity. And we learn about ethics, persuasion, humor, regret, appetite, and so much more.
At a time when history is either neglected or contested, Weiner argues we have much to learn from the past and that we’d all be better off if we acted and thought a bit more like Ben did, even if he didn’t always live up to his own high ideals. Engaging, smart, moving, quirky, Ben & Me distills the essence of Franklin’s ideas into grounded, practical wisdom for all of us.
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-
Story
Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and travel in a globe-trotting pilgrimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, Confucius to Simone Weil. Traveling by train (the most thoughtful mode of transport), he journeys thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between to reconnect with philosophy’s original purpose: teaching us how to lead wiser, more meaningful lives.
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Wisdom, Wit and Warmth
- By NotTheDuchess on 08-28-20
By: Eric Weiner
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The Geography of Bliss
- One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the listener from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness". This uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is.
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Brew your coffee, get some cookies
- By Ben on 08-30-08
By: Eric Weiner
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Man Seeks God
- My Flirtations with the Divine
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that.
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Boy does Weiner whine!
- By Lectrice on 03-18-13
By: Eric Weiner
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The Geography of Genius
- A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity.
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Very, very disappointing
- By Tamara Greer on 06-08-16
By: Eric Weiner
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The Year of Living Constitutionally
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning
- By: A.J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Is the Constitution a living document that needs to evolve with the times? Or should we try to divine the original meaning that our Founding Fathers intended, and hew to that as strictly as possible, as present-day originalists suggest? In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution.
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Delightful!
- By BranWick on 07-14-24
By: A.J. Jacobs
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- By: Benjamin Franklin
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Left unfinished at the time of his death, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has endured as one of the most well-known and influential autobiographies ever written. From his early years in Boston and Philadelphia to the publication of his Poor Richard's Almanac to the American Revolution and beyond, Franklin's autobiography is a fascinating, personal exploration into the life of America's most interesting founding father.
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Egregious omission of important passage.
- By Walking Man on 02-14-19
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The Socrates Express
- In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and travel in a globe-trotting pilgrimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, Confucius to Simone Weil. Traveling by train (the most thoughtful mode of transport), he journeys thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between to reconnect with philosophy’s original purpose: teaching us how to lead wiser, more meaningful lives.
-
-
Wisdom, Wit and Warmth
- By NotTheDuchess on 08-28-20
By: Eric Weiner
-
The Geography of Bliss
- One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the listener from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness". This uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is.
-
-
Brew your coffee, get some cookies
- By Ben on 08-30-08
By: Eric Weiner
-
Man Seeks God
- My Flirtations with the Divine
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that.
-
-
Boy does Weiner whine!
- By Lectrice on 03-18-13
By: Eric Weiner
-
The Geography of Genius
- A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity.
-
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Very, very disappointing
- By Tamara Greer on 06-08-16
By: Eric Weiner
-
The Year of Living Constitutionally
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning
- By: A.J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is the Constitution a living document that needs to evolve with the times? Or should we try to divine the original meaning that our Founding Fathers intended, and hew to that as strictly as possible, as present-day originalists suggest? In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution.
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Delightful!
- By BranWick on 07-14-24
By: A.J. Jacobs
-
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- By: Benjamin Franklin
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Left unfinished at the time of his death, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has endured as one of the most well-known and influential autobiographies ever written. From his early years in Boston and Philadelphia to the publication of his Poor Richard's Almanac to the American Revolution and beyond, Franklin's autobiography is a fascinating, personal exploration into the life of America's most interesting founding father.
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Egregious omission of important passage.
- By Walking Man on 02-14-19
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At the Edge of Empire
- A Family's Reckoning with China
- By: Edward Wong
- Narrated by: Edward Wong, Will Dao
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The son of Chinese immigrants in Washington, DC, Edward Wong grew up among family secrets. His father toiled in Chinese restaurants and rarely spoke of his native land or his years in the People’s Liberation Army under Mao. Yook Kearn Wong came of age during the Japanese occupation in World War II and the Communist revolution, when he fell under the spell of Mao’s promise of a powerful China. His astonishing journey as a soldier took him from Manchuria during the Korean War to Xinjiang on the Central Asian frontier.
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China’s Social and Economic Evolution Under Communism: Progress, Errors, and Implications of
- By Deborah on 09-09-24
By: Edward Wong
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When the Sea Came Alive
- An Oral History of D-Day
- By: Garrett M. Graff
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Garrett M. Graff, full cast
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A visceral drama, When the Sea Came Alive is the most comprehensive account of D-Day that we have yet to see, and an unforgettable, fitting tribute to the men and women of the Greatest Generation.
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Amazing Re-telling of the Story of D-Day!
- By Cheryl B on 06-16-24
By: Garrett M. Graff
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Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 24 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us - an ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings. In best-selling author Walter Isaacson's vivid and witty full-scale biography, we discover why Franklin turns to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind his new-fangled spectacles. In Benjamin Franklin, Isaacson shows how Franklin defines both his own time and ours. The most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself.
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Good book, not crazy about the narrator
- By Cathi on 07-20-13
By: Walter Isaacson
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Roctogenarians
- Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs
- By: Mo Rocca, Jonathan Greenberg
- Narrated by: Mo Rocca
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Eighty has been the new sixty for about twenty years now. In fact, there have always been late-in-life achievers, those who declined to go into decline just because they were eligible for social security. Journalist, humorist, and history buff Mo Rocca and coauthor Jonathan Greenberg introduce us to the people past and present who peaked when they could have been puttering—breaking out as writers, selling out concert halls, attempting to set land-speed records—and in the case of one ninety-year tortoise, becoming a first-time father. (Take that, Al Pacino!)
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Great stories
- By S. Comer on 10-26-24
By: Mo Rocca, and others
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Strategy
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 32 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives.
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Comprehensive 'Tour de Force' on Strategy
- By Logical Paradox on 07-20-14
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The Value of Others
- Understanding the Economic Model of Relationships to Get (and Keep) More of What You Want in the Sexual Marketplace
- By: Orion Taraban
- Narrated by: Orion Taraban
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
If everyone is looking to secure a relationship with their perceived best option, then the perception of value must be at the heart of human coupling. In this groundbreaking work, psychologist Orion Taraban sets forth his economic model of relationships and exposes the often uncomfortable laws that govern the sexual marketplace. After listening to "The Value of Others," you'll never look at relationships the same way again.
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A Goodly Medicine for Aching Hearts
- By Anonymous User on 07-07-24
By: Orion Taraban
What listeners say about Ben & Me
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stew
- 08-08-24
Ben & me
Great book that was very engaging. The author helped you feel like part of his world and that of Ben.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Carolina Ferro
- 08-20-24
Ben Franklin’s family dynamics
I liked the brief moments the author would step in & describe the fact finding trips he took to acquire Ben Franklin facts & his personal evolvement as an adult while on the trips … few comparisons to Franklin personally but interesting nonetheless
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- JM Branum
- 07-30-24
a compelling and Earnest look at a very interesting human being
I really really liked this book primarily for its emphasis on Ben Franklin the human being --- fascinating interesting and deeply deeply flawed. it all came out in this book.
there is a part of me that wishes it were possible to simply worshipfully adore someone like franklin, but that's not who he really was. the author did an excellent job of showing all of the sides of Franklin --- the beautiful the zany but also the ugly and wretched
this is a book with a lot of good life lessons I highly recommend it
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ali
- 07-11-24
Ben & Me & Me
As a Franklin enthusiast, I am always interested in anything related to Benjamin Franklin, and Ben & Me delivered on its promises.
Eric Weiner does an excellent job of maintaining a narrative flow while juxtaposing anecdotes from Franklin’s life with those of a 21st-century American. He skillfully crafts his language in Franklin’s witty and charming style, creating a parallel narrative that resonates with me and others like me.
While the book could be more concise, as many books could be, it provides a useful and enjoyable journey with Ben Franklin that flows swimmingly.
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- Hman
- 06-22-24
It really brought this historical figure to life for me.
it was a great pleasure to learn about Ben Franklin and all of the great adventures and misadventures that made up his life.
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- Stephen
- 07-15-24
Annoying voice
The story was boring as well two pegs down from Socrates express, and a downgrade from his previous titles.
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- P. V. Beagle
- 07-11-24
Terrible squeaky voice
Dissapointed in the annoying voice. Ben was a master, and I am so disappointed this is was not well represented.
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