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Benjamin Franklin (Franklin, Benjamin - Early): Life
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Benjamin Franklin (Franklin, Benjamin - Early) also shows up in the Retriever categories:
Benjamin Franklin (Franklin, Benjamin - Scientist) , and more.
Benjamin Franklin (Franklin, Benjamin - Scientist) , and more.
Scholarly writings about Benjamin Franklin have traditionally focused on the ways in which both his Autobiography and his life deal with the process of self-creation. Scholars have noted that Franklin as a model of the self-made man has come to represent American nationality and its promise of social mobility. Recently... scholars have examined the ways in which "this now canonical reading," as Betsy Erkkila notes, "fails to take account of the fluid, discontinuous, and split nature of Franklin's written 'performances' of himself" (728). In other words, recent Franklin criticism has focused on the variety of self-representations present in Franklin's Autobiography.
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The first and only comprehensive record of Benjamin Franklin's writings. Started in 1954 by Yale University, the project will eventually total 46 volumes. The team of editors has currently compiled 36 volumes, covering the first 76 years of Franklin's life.
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; ... Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs. Although it had a tortuous publication history after Franklin's death, this work has become one of the most famous and influential examples of autobiography ever written.
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[I]t should be noted that by the time of the Independence, Franklin was out of the printing business. To be sure, Franklin was an entrepreneurial young man, who worked hard at his trade and prospered accordingly. His writings and life are truly examples of "human action", which many here should recognize. To assert that Franklin's writing of and interest in a paper currency was self-motivated is a stretch at best and at worst posthumous slander. For you see, Franklin the "would-be" financially motivated uber-entrepreneur did not take advantage of patent opportunities for...the Franklin stove, bifocals, lightening rod, a version of a urinary catheter, a "long-arm" for grasping books on high shelves, and a simple odometer...just to name a few. The accusation that Franklin was purely self-interested in achieving a paper currency for the printing business is faulty, notwithstanding Franklin's earlier interest in obtaining printing contracts while he was actively managing his printing business - for that is what business owners do - constantly work to retain and obtain business.
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Next to Washington the most conspicuous and most widely useful of Americans throughout the eighteenth century was Benjamin Franklin. He was perhaps the most typical American of his time; certainly he was the most versatile man of affairs and the most picturesque in personality of all that distinguished group who helped to guide the nation in that troubled age. Through the second quarter of the century he lived the quiet life of a thrifty, sagacious man of business, at the same time taking a practical interest in matters of public moment and presenting the most original model of good citizenship that can be found. His contribution to American literature, the larger portion of which belongs to this earlier period of his career, is not great, but it is noteworthy.
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The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin is available in most bookstores. If you are unable to locate the book, ask your bookseller to order it for you or contact the publisher directly.
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