What I also appreciated about Franklin is that he had an insatiable curiosity. These showed up in different ways such as newspapers, leaflets, books, almanacs, and more. He used his presses to print his views on life. While I knew that Franklin had been a printer, I did not realize that he was a printer for most of his life. Throughout the book, he referred to these attributes and described how he applied them to different situations. He created a daily schedule to help develop these attributes. In his autobiography, he outlined his plan for attaining moral perfection. Due to some early lessons in life, which he describes in detail, he pursued a path of honor.

Through Franklin’s writing, I found Franklin to be quite an honorable man.

The footnotes provided extra background information that helped to clarify Franklin’s story. What I appreciated from the library copy besides the larger print were the footnotes. In the library copy, the editors organized the autobiography into fours parts. I appreciated this because it helped to highlight different periods in Franklin’s life. In the purchased version, the editor organized the autobiography into 19 chapters. This version did include explanatory footnotes and covered 232 pages. The library copy was a 1964 version edited by Leonard Labaree, Ralph Ketcham, Helen Boatfield, and Helene Fineman. When I got halfway through the book, I elected to go to the library and pick up a copy printed in a different format. Even with bifocals, a Franklin invention, I found the book difficult to read. My copy of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is an unabridged version printed on 8.5” x 11” paper. The content was great but, I was not satisfied with the book itself. I have mixed reviews about the book I purchased. In his book, How to Win Friends & Influence People, Dale Carnegie repeatedly referenced Ben Franklin. I had to read a book from the backlist of a new favorite author. I picked up The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to meet part of Modern Mrs. While I thought I knew a lot about his accomplishments, his autobiography opened my eyes to a lot more. He involved himself in all aspects of life. I am humbled by what he was able to accomplish in his lifetime. Benjamin Franklin is such a fascinating man.

The autobiography of benjamin