Disappointed. It wasn't really written by Franklin at all. Instead it was... largely quotes from him interpreted by someone who didn't really seem to have any qualifications to do so. Did not finish, so it may have gotten better past pg 17.

If you've read any of my more opinionated reviews, you'll know that I love editors. But editors are supposed to edit, not write the bulk of it. ( )

A lot of this book seems to be directly quoted from Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, but it provides some new material and it is a delightful, quick read, sprinkled with dry wit and many words of wisdom. I did not realize that Franklin had a hand in establishing volunteer fire brigades, the installation and cleaning of stone roadways, and the more efficient four-panel street lights. And I forgot he was the author of "Poor Richard's Almanac." Really a quite brilliant guy! However, there are times when the age Franklin lived in gets in the way...

He recommends that young women have tutelage in accounting "as likely to be of more use to them and their children, in case of widowhood, than either music or dancing; by preserving them from losses by imposition of crafty men, and enabling them to continue, perhaps, a profitable mercantile house, with established correspondence, till a son is grown up fit to undertake and go on with it..." (pp 45-46)

Yay! for recognizing that women are capable of math and writing and can run a business! Boo, for thinking that women should only run a business in widowhood and until a son can take over. So close....and yet so far, Benjamin!!!

But Franklin redeems himself countless times by being forward thinking. For example, Franklin lost one of his sons to small pox and never forgave himself. "I long regretted him bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child dies under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and therefore that the safer should be chosen." (p. 50)

Hear, hear! Far too many parents are foregoing immunizations of their children and diseases once almost wiped out in the US are making a come back. Measles, for example, was considered wiped out in 2000, but there have been several outbreaks recently. “If you are unvaccinated and you come in contact with measles, there’s a 90% chance you will get it,” says Jason McDonald, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (NYT 2014) Other diseases presenting in increasing numbers are Chicken Pox, Mumps and Whooping Cough. Is there a risk with vaccination? Yes, but I (IMHO) believe, the benefits to the individual and society far outweigh this. Go get your child vaccinated!

Okay, medical rant over. We could talk religion next... ; ) Here are a few of my favorite Benjamin Franklin quotes:

He that would live in peace and at ease, Must not speak all he knows, Nor judge all he sees.

Act uprightly and despise Calumny; dirt may stick to a Mud Wall, but not to polish'd Marble.

The honest Man takes Pains, and then enjoys Pleasures; the knave takes Pleasure and then suffers Pains.

When you're good to others, you are best to your self.

Clean your Finger, before you point at my Spots. (My Favorite!) ( )