Benjamin franklin autobiography criticism

I have mixed reviews about the book I purchased.
What has puzzled men most about Franklin is that he turned so often and so easily from one career to another, seemingly from no inner compulsion; and that he.
In several recent books by critics of individualism, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has served as the primary historical example of individualism's.

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The Real Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is not the devious and “conscious manipulation of his own persona” that Jerry Weinberger claims it is in his essay “American Idol” (Winter 2005/06). Tailoring his memoirs to provide a good model for his intended audience—his own progeny and, by inference, other young people in America—he put some things in, left some out, and gave slanted accounts of others. The result, though, is not basically false or misguided. I served as co-editor of the Yale edition of The Autobiography, which appeared after the first six edited volumes of Franklin’s Papers—documenting the years of his life covered in The Autobiography—had been published. We thus had the facts of his life before us, and we found no more than a few, trivial places where The Autobiography was inaccurate (all noted in that edition). Weinberger terms the two letters written by Franklin’s friends urging him to continue his Autobiography “absurdly bombastic” and “hilariously hyperbolic.” In truth,

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This is a different kind of autobiography than I’ve read before. Starting out with your normal starting point of birth and early childhood, Franklin is clearly remembering a lot of important aspects of his life that were formational to his life, however, there’s too much detail on low-key points and almost nothing on what you’d want to hear from Franklin about. Things like the Revolution or his time after as an ambassador are absent. He has a few tales of his inventions and start-ups that are great but it’s almost an afterthought to the points he’s making. In fact there are parts where the publisher or Franklin talk about a section just ending or Franklin’s family encouraging to write more. A bit bizarre.

A good majority of the book covers Franklin’s coming up and starting his printing business. Either the man took scrupulous notes or has a mind for the details but it’s almost impossible for someone to have that minutia of a recall for jobs he took when he was a teenager. There are some great moments in there like him starting a fir

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Franklin and the Critics of Individualism

Abstract

In several recent books by critics of individualism, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin has served as the primary historical example of individualism’s negative aspects. While these critics echo long-standing disputes in scholarship on Franklin, placing the man and his autobiography in the context of the debate about individualism raises new issues. In effect, Franklin is said to lack a social conscience: a genuine appreciation of the interconnectedness of individuals in society and a concern for community. In spite of his benevolent actions, Franklin’s way of thinking is held to betray an essentially self-interested and self-serving outlook. Communitarian critics of Franklin’s individualism raise significant ethical issues which deserve more careful analysis and scrutiny. Neither Franklin’s autobiography, his active social conscience, nor the complexity of the many ideas and tendencies loosely categorized as ‘individualism’ are adequately interpreted when Franklin’s autobiography becomes the epitome of an ideology rejec