The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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Narrated by:
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Grover Gardner
About this listen
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A foundling of mysterious parentage, Tom Jones is brought up by the benevolent and wealthy Squire Allworthy as his own son. Tom falls in love with the beautiful and unattainable Sophia Western, a neighbor’s daughter, whose marriage has already been arranged. When Tom’s sexual misadventures around the countryside get him banished, he sets out to make his fortune and find his true identity.
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Well read, many accents, older recording
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Benjamin Franklin: A Captivating Guide to an American Polymath and a Founding Father of the United States of America
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Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father of America and had an enormous impact on America as it is today. In addition to that, there are many little-known facts about the man who is Benjamin Franklin. Unlike many of the other Founding Fathers, he started out in humble circumstances. From a young age, Benjamin Franklin fought for the rights of America at home and abroad. Yet, he bore the burdens of leadership and never shirked nor faltered in his mission. His greatest asset was his charm and friendliness, but he had his detractors as well and felt the emotional impact of that.
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The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass was Douglass' third autobiography. In it he was able to go into greater detail about his life as a slave and his escape from slavery, as he and his family were no longer in any danger from the reception of his work. In this engrossing narrative he recounts early years of abuse; his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom, abolitionist campaigns, and his crusade for full civil rights for former slaves.
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Excellent in so many ways...
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Xenophon was a Greek who admired and studied with Socrates. He marched with the Spartans and later was exiled from Athens. He wrote about the history of his times, the sayings of Socrates and about life in Greece. Edward Bysshe translated Xenophone's work in 1702. This translation has continued to have an excellent reputation. In this work Xenophon discusses the views of life taught by Socrates.
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Philosopher, Soldier, Historian and Mercenary
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In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually, the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as "the Club". In this captivating audiobook, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters.
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William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity is the definitive biography of the English statesman who overcame incredible odds to bring about the end of slavery and slave trade. Called 'the wittiest man in England' by philosopher and novelist Madame de Stael, praised by Abraham Lincoln, and renowned for his oratorical genius, Wilberforce worked tirelessly to accomplish his goal. Whether you are an avid student of history, a pupil of prominent leaders of the past, or simply someone who reads for pleasure, you will love award-winning biographer Kevin Belmonte's vivid account....
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Lady Susan Vernon, middle-aged and recently widowed, has retained her looks and appealing vivacity. She makes use of her bereavement and her loss of wealth by imposing herself on the hospitality of relatives, and by amusing herself in flirtation with the various men who fall under her spell. Lady Susan has a daughter, Frederica, who is bashful and innocent—in stark contrast to her unfeeling and manipulative mother. Her mother is anxious to marry Frederica off to a spouse of appropriate wealth and social standing, and also, perhaps, to capture a new mate for herself.
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Egregious omission of important passage.
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Good advice will never get old
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there will be sleeping enough in the grave
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Good book, not crazy about the narrator
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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Ben Franklin's own lively story of his early years is a unique, fascinating, and influential look at this American founding father. It has been taught in schools as a moral tract, as a guide to self-improvement, and as the Great American Success Story. It also is relished both for its insight into colonial life and the mind of the man who most affected the development of our democratic form of government.
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Interesting
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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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-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
An American professor, lecturer and writer Dale Carnegie wrote: "If you want to have an excellent advice how to treat people, control yourself and improve your own qualities, you should read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most fascinating stories of the life." According to what Franklin wrote in The Autobiography, he developed and tried to implement into life a plan of moral perfection achievement and extermination of bad habits, based on developing skills in 13, described by him, goodnesses.
-
Poor Richard's Almanack
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Overall
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Performance
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Poor Richard's Almanack contained the calendar, astronomical and astrological information, poems, and sayings. In the spaces that occurred between noted calendar days, Franklin included proverbial sentences about industry and frugality. Franklin also included the occasional mathematical exercise, and the 1750 Almanack features an early example of demographics. It is mainly remembered, however, for being a repository of Franklin's aphorisms and proverbs, many of which live on in American English.
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Good advice will never get old
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there will be sleeping enough in the grave
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Overall
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Good book, not crazy about the narrator
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What listeners say about The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David
- 10-06-12
Interesting
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I would recommend this book. It is interesting if you are interested in history and what makes people tick. There was a lot that I was unaware of about Benjamin Franklin.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, I actually started listening to this as I began an international trip and listened to the entirety of the book in a relatively short period of time.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-11-16
A great, important, and relevant book
All sorts of historical, political, and financial insights to be had here. I hope this is brought into schools. The reader has a great voice and reads well. He earned with his reading a solid 4.4. However, that reader should resent his editor or whoever was responsible for the idiotic decision to abbreviate pauses between paragraphs, often down to less than one second, an unnatural, disruptive, reflection-killing tic that greatly mars what could have been something great. You get what you pay for. The text is available for free online and, as with all audiobooks, is good to see the words as they are because line readings - or pauses- can do so much to change meaning or disrupt your assimilation of the text. I am overall glad that I bought this, but that pause thing just kills me.
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- Bill Staley
- 06-18-14
Great book, great reader, highly recommended.
Would you consider the audio edition of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to be better than the print version?
It was great to drive around Southern California with Ben Franklin. The writing is very conversational, and Grover Gardner is the perfect narrator. He brings out the dry humor and the irony. It's a joy. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you will probably find yourself looking up many of the best parts to remember later. (Franklin was VERY quotable.) Fortunately, the book is in the public domain and easy to find and search online (with footnotes and illustrations). Even though other reviewers have prepared you, it is a very disappointing shock when the book abruptly ends. I guess we are lucky to have as much as we do have. A quibble - When one chapter ends and another begins, there is no space between them. There is less of a pause than the narrator takes between paragraphs. This is jarring and it is an editing issue, not a narrator issue. It is a shame, because Franklin is a very good writer and you would like to savor the last line of the chapter for a moment. The publisher could easily remedy this, and I sure wish they would.I read this in high school and enjoyed it then, but much more now, as a grownup.To enjoy the book it is no more necessary to know the identities of all the people to whom he refers than it would be necessary to enjoy the stories of your grandpa or uncle (or an attractive person of the opposite sex). It would be nice, and might well reward the work involved. But it is not necessary.
What other book might you compare The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to and why?
I came back to the Autobiography because of the recorded conversations available online with Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet's partner. I commend those conversations to you as an equal joy, especially if you keep up with the world of business. (Mr. Munger is also very quotable.) Another autobiography that I very much enjoyed was the Autobiography of a Yogi.
What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Ben Franklin riding shotgun with you in your car, chatting away, is wildly fun. Thank you Grover Gardner!.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It would be a waste to read Ben Franklin's Autobiography in one sitting. Partly because you need time to capture a quote before another one makes you forget the last one. If you have a long drive, this would be great, whether you are driving solo, with teenagers or another adult. There is lots of food for discussion (like the governor who promises to set up young Ben as a printer; or does having someone do you a small favor really make it more likely that they will do you a bigger favor?). Be aware that you will want to make some kind of notes (whether audio or on paper) as you listen, much more than other books.
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2 people found this helpful
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- David
- 02-20-12
Enjoyable insight into the life of Ben Franklin
What made the experience of listening to The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin the most enjoyable?
Grover Gardner was a wonderful narrator - it felt like listening to Ben himself talking of his life and events.
Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This was the first time I have listened to him, but I will anxious to listen again!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I think it would be hard to listen to in one sitting because it requires focus to take in the flowery language and sentence structure used two hundred years ago. I listened during my morning commute of 30 minutes, which was perfect.
Any additional comments?
That is was an autobiography made the book all the more interesting. Benjamin Franklin was brilliant and was able to accomplish much in his lifetime. The book was hard to follow at times, but overall was outstanding and helps the reader to understand our history and the men who molded the foundations of our county.
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- Rick
- 01-08-23
Extraordinary
I feel like I am walking with Ben Franklin as he recounts the remarkable paces of his life.
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- KaHef
- 11-28-05
Too bad it had to end so quickly!!
You get a real feel for the man with an autobio and the narrator did an excellent job. But as the previous reviewer stated, it ended early in his life so you don't get to have his perspective on the revolution & independence. Still well worth the money and the time. If you love history, you'll love this first person perspective of the first half of the 1700's.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Sarah502
- 04-29-16
Solid Read
Wonderfully written and several times went into the details of how Franklin did the things he did. Can tell how he described his actions compared to those around him that his priorities were on a completely different level. Team Frugal and Team learn would both pickup BF as captain
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- Kenneth
- 07-03-12
Excellent HIstory
Would you consider the audio edition of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to be better than the print version?
If you enjoy history you will enjoy this book. I loved the narration and the whit of Benjamin Franklin.
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- Oleg
- 08-09-05
Ben thru 1757
Enjoyable rendering, giving some feel in a surprisingly easy to listen style. Unfortunately, the account ends in 1757 with his arrival in England.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Sergio
- 09-03-06
Inspiration
Franklin inspires anyone that find yourself in extreme difficulties to keep a straight intelectual life together with a hard working day.
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2 people found this helpful