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Rating: 
Summary: The Most Dangerous Man In America, Scenes from B. Franklin..
Review: Most illuminating, well written ,historical accuracy not found in our educatonal institutions. The views of Franklin's life are incisive. The work demonstrates that he, as select other men, had the vision, the education , the conviction and the ability to follow his thoughts through to fruition. Mr. Franklin's thought about the need for a 'constitution' began its development in the 1740s, and ended in 1789 at the Phildadelphia Convention. Miss Bowen alludes to this man's quite complicated personal and private life. Franklin's liasons arte tastefully mentioned as his style of life is clearly presented. His wish for privacy is highlighed although he was outgoing and social. He remained faithful and loyal to his wife in spirit, with affection and support throughout his long married life. The emphasis of this text is on Ben Franklin's many contributions to the development of this Country,and his wisdom in the nascent field of science. He was a fierce independent thinker who cared out "these united states".A book not to be ignored and to be put before out senior adolecents as a 'must' read.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Dangerous Man In America, Scenes from B. Franklin..
Review: Most illuminating, well written ,historical accuracy not found in our educatonal institutions. The views of Franklin's life are incisive. The work demonstrates that he, as select other men, had the vision, the education , the conviction and the ability to follow his thoughts through to fruition. Mr. Franklin's thought about the need for a 'constitution' began its development in the 1740s, and ended in 1789 at the Phildadelphia Convention. Miss Bowen alludes to this man's quite complicated personal and private life. Franklin's liasons arte tastefully mentioned as his style of life is clearly presented. His wish for privacy is highlighed although he was outgoing and social. He remained faithful and loyal to his wife in spirit, with affection and support throughout his long married life. The emphasis of this text is on Ben Franklin's many contributions to the development of this Country,and his wisdom in the nascent field of science. He was a fierce independent thinker who cared out "these united states". A book not to be ignored and to be put before out senior adolecents as a 'must' read.
Rating: 
Summary: For most of his life Ben Franklin was a loyal British
Review: subject. He also spent more time in England than any of the "founding fathers". This is a biography but also the history of how the British lost America thru their own stupidity. Franklin had a logical & forward thinking mind. He knew that America would not be a colony forever. That America could be ruled for much longer by a small island accross the the ocean was not reasonable. But that would happen long after he was dead. His coming of age politically was The Albany Plan of Union in 1754 which dicusses such proposals as uniting the various states & a constitution. This was all in the context of remaining in the British Empire. This book is his story of disaffection & final break with the mother country. Truly America's first world wide celbrity.
Rating:
Summary: For most of his life Ben Franklin was a loyal British
Review: subject. He also spent more time in England than any of the "founding fathers". This is a biography but also the history of how the British lost America thru their own stupidity. Franklin had a logical & forward thinking mind. He knew that America would not be a colony forever. That America could be ruled for much longer by a small island accross the the ocean was not reasonable. But that would happen long after he was dead. His coming of age politically was The Albany Plan of Union in 1754 which dicusses such proposals as uniting the various states & a constitution. This was all in the context of remaining in the British Empire. This book is his story of disaffection & final break with the mother country. Truly America's first world wide celbrity.
Rating: 
Summary: Uneven
Review: The Most Dangerous Man in American: Scenes From the Life of Benjamin Franklin by Catherine Drinker Bowen, has good moments, but can best be described as uneven. Instead of a start to finish biography, it is actually a series of snippets from Franklin's long life. The sections are broken into the themes of The Dogood Papers, Franklin and Electricity, The Albany Congress of 1754, Franklin is Fifty, Franklin in London and The Making of a Revolutionary.
I was not very impressed with the first two sections. Extensive biographies by Walter Isaacson and others cover these areas in greater detail. But Bowen really comes on strong with her chapters about The Albany Congress. A group of representatives from most of the colonies met in Albany, New York in 1754. The purpose was to meet with the Iroquois Confederacy to gain their support against the French, and to purchase large tracts of land. Franklin brought to the table a plan to merge the colonies to form a "general government." While the goal at this time was not independence, Franklin felt that the colonies would be better able to defend themselves, would be able to combine some budget items and also, would gain some bargaining power against the British. While the representatives at Albany unanimously supported Franklin's Plan of Union, the individual colonies rejected it as they were afraid of losing their autonomy. Why this is so important is that it provided a dress rehearsal for what was to come 22 years later.
Subsequent chapters were also very fascinating and Bowen chronicles how Franklin progresses from staunch Englishman to Revolutionary. He is definitely one of the most fascinating men of the 1700's and perhaps one of the most brilliant. But the book stops in 1775 and has nothing on the last 15 years of Franklin's life.
In Bowen's defense, she passed away while writing the last chapter of The Most Dangerous Man in America. Knowing that she was dying of cancer, perhaps she had to rush the writing of this as there was much more that she could have included. Still, if you're a Ben Franklin fan, it can fill in a number of information gaps. But if you're looking for a comprehensive book on Franklin's life and work, there are better, more thorough books to be read.
Rating:
Summary: Best Biographer Ever
Review: This is one of the best written books on an historical subject I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Dangerous Man In America
Review: Timeless. A must read for any science student before graduation - high school or college. Hard science, hard times, hard minds, pliable personal judgments, almost a "how to" book on life. A great thrill to refer this book and have it light the reader's eyes and mind.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Dangerous Man In America
Review: Timeless. A must read for any science student before graduation - high school or college. Hard science, hard times, hard minds, pliable personal judgments, almost a "how to" book on life. A great thrill to refer this book and have it light the reader's eyes and mind.
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