Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Walter Isaacson\'s

¶ … Benjamin Franklin: an American life

Walter Isaacson's book "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" was published by Simon and Schuster in 2003 and has 608 pages.

The book is meant to discuss with regard to Benjamin Franklin's life from a whole different perspective when compared to traditional biographies concerning the Founding Father. The main topic addressed is Benjamin Franklin, as the book covers a series of aspects about his life, his effect on society, and how other people perceived him. Isaacson largely wanted to change people's understanding of Franklin by starting to associate him with a flesh-and-bone figure rather than with a statue representing a former influential individual in the history of the U.S.

While the book mainly focuses on Benjamin Franklin's personality, it can also be valuable as a history book. It entails information regarding a series of topics and Isaacson's focus on presenting Franklin's image through time contributes to having readers gain a proper understanding of trends present in society during the recent centuries.

B. Walter Isaacson is an American biographer and a scholar who performed extensive studies concerning Franklin in an attempt to provide readers with an account that is complex and truthful at the same time. "It's a lively, readable and affecting book. Isaacson admires his subject deeply, and makes us admire him, too." (Parini) Isaacson's background as a biographer enabled him to produce an intriguing account regarding Benjamin Franklin and assisted him as he documented from a series of sources in an attempt to provide a succinct text.

C. Isaacson wanted his readers to gain a more complex understanding of Franklin and to acknowledge the great role he played in shaping U.S. history and thinking. The writer concentrated on trying to understand how people perceived Franklin throughout history and how some tended to love him while others hated him. He provides a thorough account regarding the general public's opinion toward the Founding Father.

All things considered, even with the fact that Isaacson seems to want his readers to understand Franklin exactly as he was, it is difficult to ignore the writer's tendency to glorify the historic figure. It would be impossible for a reader to claim that Isaacson's account is balanced, taking into account that the writer takes advantage of every opportunity he gets to emphasize that Franklin was probably one of the greatest individuals in the history of mankind. "Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute and author of a biography of Henry Kissinger, sees Franklin as the perfect exemplar of American middle-class virtues." (Finn)

D. It would be wrong to claim that the book is directed toward coffee-table readers, but it would also be wrong to claim that it provides a text that only scholars can understand. "It is a thoroughly researched, crisply written, convincingly argued chronicle that is also studded with little nuggets of fresh information." (Ellis) Even with this, the fact that the book is less critical and scholarly alongside of Isaacson's success in providing an entertaining narrative makes it accessible to a wide audience.

The book can practically be used as a history textbook, considering the ample information it contains. Isaacson managed to produce a text that is informative and interesting at the same time, thus meaning that it is likely to captivate more readers and influence them to want to read more in order to improve their understanding of Franklin.

Part 2.

A. The book covers Franklin's life from the moment when he is born to the moments when he invented some of the most important devices in all of history during his last years. Isaacson's account is intriguing because it provides readers with the image of a man who did not hesitate to engage in amusing activities in spite of the fact that he was serious and determined to succeed. The story basically provides a rags-to-riches account as it shows young Ben going from leaving home for New York with only a dollar in his pocket to going to England and to returning to Philadelphia in order to start a series of groups that evolved in becoming the most respected people in the country.

Franklin's life is followed as he invests resources into his ideas and struggles to have society acknowledge the positive effects of using innovation with the purpose of improving conditions for people in general. He was 42 when he abandoned printing in an attempt to get actively involved in a series of domains he considered important. Franklin eventually became a leading figure in several spheres of influence and demonstrated that the world as a whole needed to accept that he was a genius.

B. Isaacson generally wants readers to comprehend that Franklin was not the flat character that historians often portray in history books. There was much more to him than that and he would most likely be greatly appreciated in the contemporary society, given that present-day people are obsessed with combinations of wealth and intelligence. Moreover, the writer promotes the idea that Franklin was not blinded with his success and went through great troubles to help simple people, both through his inventions and through his actions toward the masses. This was a man who believed in democracy and whom was greatly influenced by his success, up to the point where he acknowledged that anyone could become successful as long as the respective individual did everything in his or her power in order to achieve his or her goals.

C. Benjamin Franklin has had a great impact on society, ranging from his inventions to the institutions that he invested in. He was an internationally-recognized scientist, a successful writer, and a particularly effective diplomat. It is actually intriguing to observe how, in spite of his position, he took the time to care about less privileged people and about the well-being of individuals across the U.S. "To top it off, he was a man of multiple masks, protean in his personas as well as his talents, gliding effortlessly from Poor Richard to promiscuous London bon vivant to backwoods Voltaire. Chronologically, intellectually and psychologically, he is a stretch." (Ellis)

D. The book is very successful in reaching its goal, considering that Isaacson primarily wanted it to change people's understanding of Benjamin Franklin. Even though the writer glorifies Franklin, he does not hesitate to emphasize that he too was human and that, like most people, he was predisposed to coming across less glorifying experiences. Isaacson's main purpose in writing the text was to have people comprehend that Franklin was a very complex individual and that he was determined to try everything in his power in order to realize whether or not it was possible for him to succeed in a particular enterprise that he was interested in.