BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

by Thomas Fleming ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 1972

Fleming's Franklin is above all ""paternal"" and his relationship with his illegitimate son William -- who was made royal Governor of New Jersey through his father's influence and later sided with the loyalist cause -- is a tragic thread running through his public successes. Fleming strikes a good balance between the busy early period of scientific, literary and business activity and the long years of diplomatic service in France as well as between the folksy (though industriously cultivated) wit which produced so many memorable anecdotes and the sorrows brought on by a divided family and the public slanders he faced (many as a result of his opposition to the proprietary privileges enjoyed by the Penn family). The highlights of any life of Franklin are, inevitably, the quotations from his own writings, and Alfred Tamarin perhaps had the best of it in merely editing these into an Autobiographical Portrait (1969), but Fleming uses his subject's own words economically and to good effect, and allows the man's deep humanity to shine through. Lively, well-spoken, and a must for basic biography collections.

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Four Winds

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION