A Benjamin Franklin Reader

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Simon and Schuster, 2003 - 551 Seiten
Selected and annotated by the author of the acclaimed "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life," this collection of Franklin's writings shows why he was the bestselling author of his day and remains America's favorite Founder and wit.

As a twelve-year-old apprentice in his brother's print shop, Benjamin Franklin taught himself to be a writer by taking notes on the works of great essayists such as Addison and Steele, jumbling them up, and then trying to recreate them in his own words. By that method, he recalled in his "Autobiography," he was encouraged to think he might become a "tolerable" writer. In fact, he became the best, most popular, and most influential writer in colonial America. His direct and practical prose shaped America's democratic character, and his homespun humor gave birth to the nation's unique brand of crackerbarrel wisdom.

This book collects dozens of Franklin's delight-ful essays and letters, along with a complete version of his "Autobiography." It includes an introductory essay exploring Franklin's life and impact as a writer, and each piece is accompanied by a preface and notes that provide background, context, and analysis. Through the writings and the introductory essays, the reader can trace the development of Franklin's thinking, along with the birth of the nation he and his pen helped to invent.

Im Buch

Ausgewählte Seiten

Inhalt

Introduction
1
Silence Dogood Introduces Herself
9
Silence Dogoods Recipe for Poetry
18
Silence Dogood Proposes Civic Improvements
24
The First Abortion Controversy
45
A Witch Trial at Mount Holly
58
How to Please in Conversation
86
Introducing Poor Richard
93
Reasons for Restoring Canada to France
187
The Cravenstreet Gazette
223
A Showdown with Lord Hillsborough
230
The Cause of Colds
239
You Are My Enemy
259
An Appeal to Frances Interests
269
To His Daughter on Fame Frugality and Grandchildren
286
A Fable About Misguided Loyalists
311

Poor Richard Denies He Is Franklin
100
Poor Richard Blames His Printer
106
Poor Richards Wife Takes Her Turn
115
A Call to Arms for the Middling People
133
On Welfare Dependency
155
Catherine Ray
166
The Constitutional Convention
357
Franklins Closing Speech
363
The Final Parody on Slavery
372
The Autobiography
399
Urheberrecht

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