Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson
Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (May 4, 2004)
I am always pretty careful when embarking upon some serious non-fiction— 6oo some-odd pages worth in this case— as I have an inquisitive mind, but not one that can resist the yawner biographies that are mass-produced these days. Luckily, in Isaacson’s treatment of a much-written-about and much-mythologized subject he manages to create a compelling narrative and interesting voice that carries the reader (not literally, as I am unseasonably heavy right now) through the life and times of Benjamin Franklin.
Ben Franklin— or B. Franks as I have come to call him— was an exceedingly interesting guy. He invented things— bifocals, lightning rods, political cartoons; he developed organizations— libraries, fire departments, postal service; he signed stuff— peace accord with England , treaty with France , Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution; he…
Well, let me put it this way, HE IS THE BENJAMINS. When a rapper says “it’s all about the Benjamins, they’re talking about B. Franks. So turn down your Kanye West and listen up.
Although, that Kanye West is really on to something, don’t you think? Or what about that Fall Out Boy— not their new album, or even “Under the…” but that “Take This To Your Grave” is a real toe-tapper, wouldn’t you say? But I digress.
What struck me as most interesting about the book was the character of B. Franks— he was free-spirited and simultaneously diligent to his beliefs. For instance, while we might think of Ben Franklin as a pudgy old dude who was busy signing the Declaration of Independence and flying lighting kites, he was a fairly rebellious young kid. By 17 he had run away from Boston to Philadelphia and not long after that he hopped ship to live in London (which was a 6-week voyage at the time). Franklin was a globetrotter before the Grateful Dead even had a tour bus. It is astounding to me to think that in the early- to mid-1700’s B. Franks was living in Philadelphia, Boston, London, France— with trips to Montreal and all up and down the colonies. He was the most well-traveled and knowledgeable person about all 13 colonies up until the Declaration of Independence was signed— and maybe after.
I can’t help but think of all the times I sat around with my flunky buddies and we talked about a road trip and instead wound up at 7-11 buying Cheetos. B. Franks was criss-crossing the globe and meeting famous people all over the world.
By 17, it is suspected, that he was the best writer in “the colonies.” And he was self-taught for the most part. His style is considered a father to Mark Twain and American writing. Further, he is now considered the most important scientist since Newton — before Einstein and physics, etc.— for his experiments with electricity.
Also of interest was his dedication to true democracy (he was considered radical to many when they drafted the Constitution), as well as his commitment to the greater good in compromise. In an era when we too often can confuse compromise in politics with self-seeking, Franklin ’s personal style of pushing for the greater good— with compromise and diplomacy— reveals the necessity and strength of these tools when combined with a passion for common people’s rights and a disgust for aristocracy.
Probably my favorite scenes in the book come when Franklin hits Europe for the second time. By then he was considered a demigod for his discoveries with electricity and lightning. Consider this: before Franklin , when a town had difficulties with lightning, there was often a sense that God had somehow become upset with them. The solution? Build a taller church, with a big metal bell, which would inevitably get crushed by lightning. Franklin develops the lightning rod and people revere him. He not only saved their churches and homes— but the sense is almost that he got God to be happy with them again. When Franklin was a delegate to France in the 1770’s there were hundreds of coins, miniatures, and representations of him dressed as a frontiersman.
He was like the P. Diddy of his time— times 100. He attended a party in France — one where everyone was wearing powdered wigs. Well, B. Franks wasn’t down with that high-class stuff, so he wore his fur hat. The next year, women’s wigs fashioned in the manner of the fur hat he wore were a fashion craze in Paris . The next year he attended a function simply carrying a white hat in his hand. Of course, white hats were the next fashion trend in Paris . Who else besides B. Franks was a scientist, writer, civil servant, AND a fashion icon. Look out fashion week.
The one negative about the book? It is not juicy enough at times. Isaacson takes great care to provide a fair representation of the man. While much has been said of Franklin as an adulterer and a party animal, the book tempers these stories with a true sketch of the man rather than a sensational E! True Hollywood Story version.
All in all, a fascinating book. Not the best biography I have read (which goes to de Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan), but a great one regardless.
As French financier A.J. Turgot said about Franklin :
“He stole lightning from the sky / and the scepter from tyrants.”
--REVIEWED BY KURT COLE EIDSVIG
Eidsvig is a wicked-good painter and poet who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Check out his art at the Wazoo Art Show (posted last month) and at his website.
