Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Rating:
Summary: Combatting the Seven Deadly Sins
Review: On a personal level, most men are concerned with how they shall seem to society and judge that, if they seem well, they are well. Franklin's chief private preoccupation, as revealed by his letters, was to be well himself first. To that end as a young man he devised a chart on which he could record how often he committed each sin each day. Much to his surprise, he found that he was a sinner. In devising methods to overcome what he considered to be his worst faults, he became inspired with the judgement and skills that led him to know almost intinctively what the future nation would need and to follow through on it. We read of him founding the first libraries, the first fire companies, and the first American Philosophical Society, which originally was a discussion group to which members, who were the public at large, were invited to make presentations on some project. To see the slow and often painful growth of a population of small towns and villages into what would become a mighty nation, through Franklin's eyes, is to understand much better the formation of an American identity, the core of which is with us today.