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Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur, Franklin's Autobiography Adapted for Modern Times
You are holding the only modern adaptation of Benjamin Franklin's 18th century autobiography. It is at its heart one of the greatest business stories ever told. The most versatile Founding Father was a husband, a father, a writer, an inventor, a statesman, a fundraiser and a military leader. But in his mind, he was first and foremost a businessman.
Franklin's captivating ad ...more
Franklin's captivating ad ...more
Hardcover
,
266 pages
Published
October 15th 2005
by Entrepreneur Press
(first published October 31st 2003)
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Community Reviews
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This book was quite a useful aid to reading the original biography. Thought I found the language in the original fairly easy to read, this book provided some extra explanation. Though I do wish he could have found some way to include the original text with his notes along the side.
Anyways I did quite like this paraphrased quote about vaccinations:
"I lost a child of my own to smallpox in 1736. He was a fine boy of four years old. We chose not to vaccinate him against the disease because the vacc ...more
Anyways I did quite like this paraphrased quote about vaccinations:
"I lost a child of my own to smallpox in 1736. He was a fine boy of four years old. We chose not to vaccinate him against the disease because the vacc ...more
Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur is the modernized version of Ben Franklin's autobiography. Though extremely intriguing and interesting in its own right, the original biography was written in a rather disjointed way in the natural language and voice of the times. These aspects make reading the original autobiography difficult while reducing the powerful messages contained in this important man's life. I believe the author has done a tremendous job of reorganizing Franklin's musings
...more
This really shoes Benjamin Franklin for the great business man and creative man that he was. I was assigned this book for my intro to business class (my professor is the author) and ended up loving it!! It's a suprisingly interesting read, taking you from Ben's childhood to his later years. It doesn't go into extreme detail, however, it does give you a glimpse into who he was.
Dec 30, 2011
Chad Warner
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
entrepreneurs, business owners
Shelves:
non-fiction
,
self-help
I was amazed by the story of Franklin's life; and this book only records his life until age 51, when he was mainly focused on business! Although he was somewhat involved in politics in the years covered, the book doesn't cover his involvement in the American Revolution and founding of the United States. However, there is a timeline at the end that outlines some of his major accomplishments for the rest of his life.
Reading this made me feel like I haven't achieved enough by this point in my life. ...more
Reading this made me feel like I haven't achieved enough by this point in my life. ...more
I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. Maybe it was because all the chapters were so short, and it's a little dry so I didn't stick with it.
Not that it wasn't interesting. I learned things about Ben Franlkin I didn't know, but it isn't a full autobiography.
It is entries from his autobiography, written BEFORE the American Revolution and written in England while he was fighting for the Penn family to start paying their share of taxes. The compiler, Blaine McCormick, chose entri ...more
Not that it wasn't interesting. I learned things about Ben Franlkin I didn't know, but it isn't a full autobiography.
It is entries from his autobiography, written BEFORE the American Revolution and written in England while he was fighting for the Penn family to start paying their share of taxes. The compiler, Blaine McCormick, chose entri ...more
I really enjoyed reading this. And it was an easy read with short chapters that I could pick up whenever I wanted and put down quickly. The adaptation to modern language was helpful for me and I'm curious about how much of the syntax and language is Franklin's and how much was changed. I would actually like to go back and read the original now. But reading this first was a great intro for me since I'm betting it will make the original easier to understand. We'll see, though. And I love Franklin'
...more
The best autobiography I have ever read. I can't stop talking about Ben Franklin.
An incredible combination of the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the many business accomplishments he achieved. Franklin is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time, and this book illustrates exactly why. This book explores his business acumen while still illustrating his love of science, country, and family. Anyone wanting to improve their professional life will enjoy reading this book.
A rather self-serving and ego-stroking autobiography (but that sort of defines the genre, eh?). Saved by the fact that it's a founding father, and many of these ideas/tips hadn't been put down so effectively on paper before. Plus, who doesn't like Poor Richard?
I loved this book. From his autobiography, you can see that Franklin, one of the most important figures in the founding of our country, was probably a big jerk to those who knew him. Most of the time, the humor is unintentional.
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I thought this was a good book. This was about the story of Ben Franklin and all his acheivements and changes in his life.
This was an inspiring story. I liked this modern version. It made it easy for even my teenagers to read.
A should-read biograpy on leadership for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.
This man was an outstanding leader, inventor and statesman. Should be required reading for all of us
I have about 20 pages tagged with post-its of things I want to read over again and again.
Really enjoyed this one. It was a very inspiring biography.
Franklin, sir, you are a conceited jackass.
Made me want to read the original.
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Benjamin Franklin
was a writer, a philosopher, a scientist, a politician, a patriot, a Founding Father, an inventor, and publisher. He helped with the founding of the United States of America and changed the world with his discoveries about electricity. His writings such as
Poor Richards' Almanac
have provided wisdom for 17 years to the colonies.
More about Benjamin Franklin...
