Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness Audiobook By Peter Moore cover art

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Britain and the American Dream

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

By: Peter Moore
Narrated by: John Lee
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.79

Buy for $25.79

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The most famous phrase in American history once looked quite different. "The preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness" was how Thomas Jefferson put it in the first draft of the Declaration, before the first ampersand was scratched out, along with "the preservation of." The precise contours of these three rights have never been pinned down—and yet in making these words into rights, Jefferson reified the hopes (and debates) not only of a group of rebel-statesmen but also of an earlier generation of British thinkers who could barely imagine a country like the United States of America.

Peter Moore's Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness tells the true story of what may be the most successful import in US history: the "American dream." Centered on the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and the British publisher William Strahan, and featuring figures including the cultural giant Samuel Johnson, the ground-breaking historian Catharine Macaulay, the firebrand politician John Wilkes, and revolutionary activist Thomas Paine, this book looks at the generation that preceded the Declaration in 1776. Everyone, it seemed, had "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" on their minds; Moore shows why, and reveals how these still-nascent ideals made their way across an ocean and started a revolution.

©2023 Peter Moore (P)2023 Tantor
Colonial Period Great Britain Philosophy United States American History Boston
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Engaging story-telling

Unlike what the rather tendentious title of this might suggest, this is very accessible overview of the philosophical themes behind “The American Dream.” Moores book reads like a very good group biography of a selected thinkers, writers, and activists, all with roots in and ties to Britain, and particularly Benjamin Franklin. The narration was exceptionally good at making conversations come alive and the capturing the tone of written materials. So glad I picked this up and I highly recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating story gets lost a bit in the details

Moore takes on a wonderful & difficult task of describing the environment and personalities encircling Ben Franklin as a way to describe the evolution of the man and the Revolution. This is an important piece of any history, the environment, which is too often lost in tales of The Man. My quibble would be the time spent on minutia (a 6 or 8 paces duel?) which diluted the the picture he painted. Near excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Review

Well done Worth listening Enjoyed nuance of speech from speaker
Story enlarged understanding of events of that time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The untold story. Of the american revolution

A magnificent behind the scenes look. At the Genesis of the American revolotion and of the role played by the inimitable Founding father Ben Franklin.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful