Rating: 
Summary: Good, but doesn't supplant previous biographies
Review: This is a serviceable biography and provides a easy-to-read account of Franklin's life, but does not, in my mind, the shorter but better biography by Morgan or the slightly earlier biography by Brands, or the much earlier--and slightly hagiographical biography--of Van Doren. I find Isaacson good at finding the trees--especially the unflattering trees--but not so good at describing the forest. As a result, while the volume is excellent at acquainting the early 21st century reader with the questions that most early 21st century readers would ask about Franklin, he falters somewhat at answering what it all means. In other words, it is a biography without a very good sense of history, and is likely to have less interest for future generations, who are less interested in a tailored-to-the-moment biography,I did want to make a reply to one especially negative review below where Franklin was rounding criticized for 1) being arrogant, 2) ignoring men and women of African descent, and 3) having had the audacity to rewrite the Declaration of Independence. It is very helpful in writing a negative review to at least have read about the individual in question. If the reviewer in question had, he would have know that Franklin held some of the most enlightened views towards Americans of African descent in America. His last public controversy, in fact, was to call for the abolition of slavery and write a piece excoriating its evils. Unfortunately, he died only a couple of months after engaging in this controversy. As far as arrogance, I'm not sure where that impression comes from. He certainly had a high and exceedingly well justified opinion of his own self worth, but arrogance was not a word that people who actually dealt with him used. It is not an exaggeration to say that many people in Europe considered him to the world's most remarkable man (much of his representation in art prior to the Revolutionary War--when his public image necessarily becomes politicized--bears this high regard out). But Franklin was never dictatorial in his wishes, never browbeat his intellectual opponents, never lauded his merits over others. If one reads accounts of the constitutional congress, Franklin's greatest contributions was as promoter of compromise, not as arrogant declaimer. Now, about his rewriting sections of the "constitution" that Jefferson wrote. There are multiple confusions at work here. First, Jefferson was not involved in the writing of the constitution at all, actually being in France while it was being written. In fact, Jefferson wrote NONE of the constitution. Obviously, the reviewer meant the Declaration of Independence. Facts confused again. Those assembling to declare independence from Britain appointed a committee to undertake the writing. It was expected that the committee would produce the Declaration as a committee and not as the work of one person, and that Franklin, as the most famous writer in the colonies, would contributor a great deal. But because of his gifts as a prose stylist, it was agreed that Jefferson should write the first draft. Franklin, whose gifts as a writer were regarded more highly than anyone excepting Jefferson, made some light but on the whole very helpful changes, but otherwise stated his opinion that Jefferson had done the committee's work for them. Franklin, Adams and the others agreed to accept Jefferson's slightly amended draft. I am not, however, a big fan of Isaacson's biography. I felt uncomfortable with many of the emphases on Franklin's life as a businessman, and didn't, I believe, sufficiently emphasis Franklin's enormous sense of responsibility that he felt American's bore their society. Furthermore, he was not the entrepreneur that Isaacson portrays him to be. In fact, he repeatedly turned down entrepreneurial opportunities, most famously in refusing the patent for his stove, which would have netted him a fortune. I still prefer Van Doren's perhaps too praiseworthy biography or either of the more recent biographies of H. W. Brands and Edmund Morgan.
Rating: 
Summary: For Franklin fans only
Review: I have long been fascinated by Ben Franklin and have read many biographies of him as well as many of his works. When this book was released, I hesitated to buy it, thinking there could be nothing new. Much to my surprise, Isaacson has included information I have not encountered elsewhere. Morever, he writes well, and this book is a terrific read.
Rating:
Summary: American Spirit
Review: Walter Isaacson's biography of Benjamin Franklin, like no other, reflects the true American spirit. When England tried to impose taxes on the 13 American colonies (without the benefit of representation in Parliment) the rally cry became "no taxation without representation." Gutsy! Imagine 13 colonies with a very small population standing up to royal England. It couldn't have been done without the likes of Franklin, Adams, Jefferson and the independent robust natures of Americans. Isaacson's book not only details the lusty life of Benjamin Franklin, it resurects the power of the people. This book is truely inspiring, and it should be a staple in every American household
Rating: 
Summary: Benjamin Franklin: An American Fraud
Review: What a Franklinfest this turned out to be. "Statesman, inventor, all-around-swell guy." Well, I guess that's one way to look at Ben. But another way is to focus on his elitist attitude and absolute lack of respect for people of color in his manic push to establish this country. He was swell alright, if you were a white, British aristocrat, but a nightmare to everyone else. Arrogant, egotistical. He was never shy to tell others how to live their lives. As mentioned in this book, he even had the audacity to rewrite parts of the Constitution that Jefferson had painstakingly labored over. What a jerk. I loved the mention of the kite-flying incident, however.
Rating:
Summary: The inventor who continued to re-invent himself
Review: For those who enjoy history, particularly the American Revolutionary period, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, is an enjoyable and spirited review of a truly remarkable man. You learn about Franklin in American History class, but Isaacson picks out the actions that truly define Franklin's character and the times in a great story of one of the world's greatest inventors. The most telling, from my point of view, was how Franklin, as told by Isaacson, continually re-invented and refined his role in society. Isaacson's helps us understand Franklin's early decisions that later define him as true leader of the American revolution. Franklin's self-taught and can do attitude come alive as Isaacson describes Franklin's career as a printer. Even in Franklin's early career, Isaacson shows the reader how versitile Franklin is in not only his capacity to understand business, but his understanding of human nature and the politics of the time. These skills, elucidated in Franklin's later role as part of the American team sent to France, come alive again as Franklin works with a somewhat gruff partner in John Adams to bring along French support of the American war effort against England. Isaacson tells these historical events as if he was standing unnoticed behind our two French ministers of the American revolution. These thoughts about the book only begin to describe the story of Franklin by Isaacson. If you enjoy history, the American Revolution, science or just Ben Franklin, you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Discover Franklin and Discover America!
Review: Ben Franklin An American Life by Walter Isaacson is a book that should be required reading for all American high school students. I wish I had read this book thirty years ago for this book has transformed my cartoonish, single-dimensioned view of Benjamin Franklin into the multi-dimensional, sometimes controversial, and at all times entertaining historical figure he actually was. And while we view Mr. Franklin through the eyes of Author Walter Isaacson, his opinions are mostly invisible throughout almost 600 pages of text, allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions. We know Ben Franklin today mostly as one of the founding fathers. But his presence in our lives comes mostly to us through companies that either bear his name or use his likeness in advertising. Generally we think of Franklin as a wise man whose Poor Richards Almanack and thirteen virtues remind us to work hard to improve ourselves. His character is affiliated with savings, with insurance, with investments and a whole host of products, which we buy because we should. Because it would be the right thing to do, if not the most desired thing to do. After reading Isaacson's book, I believe Franklin would get a chuckle out of what we have turned him into. I don't mean that Isaacson portrays Franklin as a fool. He certainly was not that. Isaacson allows us to see Franklin as so much more than his own Autobiography would have us know of him. Mr. Franklin was a great man, great in science, printing, writing, diplomacy, and democracy. Indeed he was the first great promoter of the middle class in America. He believed in the ability of man to make himself better. Certainly he was a self-made man. But he was also great in the way he lived his life. He loved to travel. As postmaster, he saw more of America probably than any American of his era. His wanderlust did not stop on this side of the Atlantic. He also visited most of Europe. For that matter he lived most of the second half of his life in Europe. Perhaps what I enjoyed so much about Isaacson's book was learning what Franklin was not. For example, he was not American, as we think of him, until very close to the actual Revolution. For most of his life, Franklin saw himself as a loyal citizen of the throne of England and worked mightily to avoid the very Independence Day in which Americans remember him so highly. He viewed the problems with England as a problem first with the Proprietors, then with the Legislature, and only finally with the king himself. If it had been possible to maintain America as an expanded part of England, with equal rights and responsibilities, Franklin would have happily supported such a plan. Also while Franklin was great in many endeavors, he was not a particularly good family man. He married his wife more out of expedience and necessity than out of romantic inclination. He needed a mother for his newborn son, William, and Deborah (not William's mother) was a willing candidate. Franklin lived fifteen of the final 18 years away from Deborah: he lived in Europe and she lived in Philadelphia. While he was always fond of Deborah, he was also fond of other women as well. Isaacson does not paint Franklin so much as an adulterer, though he may have been, but rather as more of a flirt. Franklin did not have many close relationships either. He was estranged from his son, when William remained loyal to the crown. The fact that William remained loyal was not such a shock when one considers that he was raised in England by Franklin when Franklin considered himself first and foremost a British citizen. While Franklin knew more great men of his generation than anyone, he was not particularly close to any of them. He was closer to the women in his life. This closeness was more of companionship and conversation than anything more lurid. My intention here is to write a book review, not another biography. But I have to admit that one of the great things that has happened in my life as a result of Isaacson's biography of Franklin's life is that I am more keenly desirous of knowing about the minds and the lives of the founding fathers of our great country. Benjamin Franklin An American Life helps me to understand who we are as Americans, as well as who we aren't. Understanding more of what happened 250 years ago helps me to understand more about today. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Isaacson's biography of Franklin. It is a long read. But near the end I was saddened to have to finally finish it. When I read the chapter of Franklin's death I was saddened as if I had lost someone close to me. I was pleased to turn the page and discovered that Isaacson wrote another entire chapter about Franklin after his death. Many writers and thinkers have commented on Franklin's life throughout American history. Franklin has gone through many recreations throughout the past two centuries and reading what has been written at various times also tells us something of those times and the changes in our country. I give Benjamin Franklin An American Life by Walter Isaacson my highest recommendation of five stars out of five stars. Read it. Enjoy it. Benefit from it. This book of Franklin's yesterdays can change your tomorrows.
Rating:
Summary: Isaacson's Portrait more detailed than any painting
Review: Walter Isaacson has done remarkable things with his book "Benjamin Franklin"
He has:
1) added a valuable and important work to the immense canon available on Benjamin Franklin.
2) written with subtlety, grace, and realism about world changing events and an enigmatic subject that are often mythesized beyond common empathy.
3) kept the book and the subject approachable and human.
4) made a long and complex life engaging, well explained, and fun.
I recommend this book without reservation. Well done, Sir.
Rating:
Summary: Accessible and interesting
Review: This book will not shake the world of Franklin scholarship, list the minutiae of his life, or advance any new or controversial theses about this giant among our Founding Fathers. What it does, and does quite well, is provide an interesting, accessible account of Franklin's life that is at the same time quite readable. For example, I hadn't realized just how much of his life he spent in England and how many Enlightenment figures he knew personally, nor had I realized the extent to which he had advanced the experimental sciences, particularly the study of electricity. This biography may not satisfy professional historians, but for the rest of us, this is a good choice.
Rating:
Summary: Ben is human
Review: More than anything, Isaacson presents Franklin as human. There were faults with Franklin and there were virtues. For instance, how good was this Founding Father at being a real father, or husband, or friend?
Without making judgements, Isaacson does a decent job at giving us this "Franklin was human" perspective that all icons deserve.
Rating:
Summary: Ben Franklin "Lite"
Review: Having first read H. W. Brand's "The First American: The Life and Time of Benjamin Franklin", I was extremely disappointed in Isaacson's effort. Quite frankly, it reads much like one would expect to find not in a good biography, but in the pages of Time magazine - simple, uncomplicated, and very light on the facts (though Isaacson freely offers his and other historians opinions throughout the book). If you want a thorough and well written biography of Franklin, you'll much prefer Brand's book to this one.
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