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Summary: You won't find the revolutionary Franklin here.
Review: This is a autobiography of his early years. He actually finished the second half of it thirty years later when he claims he has enough time & before he became too old. The two halves have been edited seamlessly. In this we see just hints of what England's future relations with the colonies will be. Franklin has considerable business relations with the British military & makes his fortune in business by the time he is fifty. He is just getting his feet damp in politics being one of the framers of the Albany Plan of Union in 1754. There is much in this of the Franklin we do not know. It is informal & personal. With all its facinating anedotes it would have been lost to the world if he hadn't been urged to write it. America first true international super star, but by the end of this book, not yet.
Rating: 
Summary: best ever,(so far)
Review: This is so far the best book I have ever read...no where else will you get to experience a truly amazing, real life story that will push you to research more on the topics of genius men and women and their thought prosses.
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Summary: Discursive tale from America's leader of the Enlightenment
Review: This is the story of one of America's smartest men. Written in a seemingly desultory manner, Franklin tells about his life from his beginnings in Boston to his contributions to science and the enlightenment. I was a little disappointed though because there was no writing about the American revolutionary war or the drafting of the American Constitution-two things that Franklin is known for. In addition we don't get a detailed account of his discoveries in electricity (at least in the Dover edition, other editions might include other writings by Franklin). However, this book does shed light on the American spirit. He talks about how he came one day to Philadelphia with only enough money to buy some bread, and ended up years later as one of Philadelphia's most respected man.This books is colored with enjoyable stories and anecdotes from Franklin's life. Every page is full of little aphorisms and maxims in witty tales about events in Franklin's life. I'd recommend this book for the quality of Franklin's wisdom. Even if he wasn't so important to the birth of the United States, this book would still be cherished by the American people.
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Summary: His life from HIS perspective - not the textbook writers'
Review: To enjoy this book, set your expectations accordingly. If you do, and you take to heart what he says, it can show you much about the man Franklin really was, and something about yourself. What to expect: You are going to be reading a book written in Old English, and from the point of view of the main character of the book. This does not 'proclaim the greatness' of Franklin. If it did, he would be violating one of his own precepts - humility. It speaks to what was important to him, and his view of the world around him. It shows how he lived his life, not just what he did during it. Also, the author does not have the benefit of more than 200 years to take stock in what he accomplished or what role he played in liberating these colonies of ours. He wrote this sometime before his death, and wrote what was important to him as the ink flowed. All in all, I thought this was a well-written book, and showed different sides to Franklin that are not necessarily shown in American History class. Just think - you are reading words from the pen of Ben Franklin about his own life as he lived it, not a story written by some guy at Prentice-Hall trying to meet a deadline.
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Summary: A window into the mind of a remarkable American
Review: When I was a boy, my father told me to read the "Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." Of course, I didn't listen to Dad but now, decades later, I have finally read it. This book is not a comprehensive memoir of the historical events that made him famous. Indeed, the book ends when he is in his early 50s, long before his activities in the Continental Congress, as delegate to the constitutional convention, and as Minister to France. What this book does is to give us the flavor of this remarkable man's personality. The first part of this book was really letters to his son and the latter part continued the narrative. He writes with a subtle humor that at times had me in stitches. He writes about his scientific achievements and inventions such as what has become known as the "Franklin stove," and his experiments with electricity. Evidentally, there were some in the scientific community who did not believe that lightening was electricity and he took delight in proving them wrong (he very briefly mentions his kite experiment). He writes about virtues and his cultivation of them. He reflects upon religion yet he was not dogmatic. He was civic minded, starting, among other things, a fire department and a public library. In short, he was a reflective, intelligent, industrious, remarkable man and we realize this best by reading his own words. My father was right; I should have read this years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: It was boring!
Review: You know some books that you read and just can't put down? Well, this isn't one of them. Franklin may have been a great man and a fine human being, but he was not a great writer. I am sorry but just because he was Benjamin Franklin one of the founding fathers of the United States, and one of the framers of the Declaration of Independance doesn't mean that his autobiography should be considered a classic.
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