The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

By: Benjamin Franklin

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

From printer's apprentice to internationally famous scientist, inventor, statesman, legislator, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin led a most remarkable life. Seldom is history so well articulated by someone who was there.

Public Domain (P) Commuter's Library

Interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this book. It is interesting if you are interested in history and what makes people tick. There was a lot that I was unaware of about Benjamin Franklin.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I actually started listening to this as I began an international trip and listened to the entirety of the book in a relatively short period of time.

A great, important, and relevant book

All sorts of historical, political, and financial insights to be had here. I hope this is brought into schools. The reader has a great voice and reads well. He earned with his reading a solid 4.4. However, that reader should resent his editor or whoever was responsible for the idiotic decision to abbreviate pauses between paragraphs, often down to less than one second, an unnatural, disruptive, reflection-killing tic that greatly mars what could have been something great. You get what you pay for. The text is available for free online and, as with all audiobooks, is good to see the words as they are because line readings - or pauses- can do so much to change meaning or disrupt your assimilation of the text. I am overall glad that I bought this, but that pause thing just kills me.

Great book, great reader, highly recommended.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to be better than the print version?

It was great to drive around Southern California with Ben Franklin. The writing is very conversational, and Grover Gardner is the perfect narrator. He brings out the dry humor and the irony. It's a joy. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you will probably find yourself looking up many of the best parts to remember later. (Franklin was VERY quotable.) Fortunately, the book is in the public domain and easy to find and search online (with footnotes and illustrations). Even though other reviewers have prepared you, it is a very disappointing shock when the book abruptly ends. I guess we are lucky to have as much as we do have. A quibble - When one chapter ends and another begins, there is no space between them. There is less of a pause than the narrator takes between paragraphs. This is jarring and it is an editing issue, not a narrator issue. It is a shame, because Franklin is a very good writer and you would like to savor the last line of the chapter for a moment. The publisher could easily remedy this, and I sure wish they would.I read this in high school and enjoyed it then, but much more now, as a grownup.To enjoy the book it is no more necessary to know the identities of all the people to whom he refers than it would be necessary to enjoy the stories of your grandpa or uncle (or an attractive person of the opposite sex). It would be nice, and might well reward the work involved. But it is not necessary.

What other book might you compare The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to and why?

I came back to the Autobiography because of the recorded conversations available online with Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet's partner. I commend those conversations to you as an equal joy, especially if you keep up with the world of business. (Mr. Munger is also very quotable.) Another autobiography that I very much enjoyed was the Autobiography of a Yogi.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ben Franklin riding shotgun with you in your car, chatting away, is wildly fun. Thank you Grover Gardner!.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It would be a waste to read Ben Franklin's Autobiography in one sitting. Partly because you need time to capture a quote before another one makes you forget the last one. If you have a long drive, this would be great, whether you are driving solo, with teenagers or another adult. There is lots of food for discussion (like the governor who promises to set up young Ben as a printer; or does having someone do you a small favor really make it more likely that they will do you a bigger favor?). Be aware that you will want to make some kind of notes (whether audio or on paper) as you listen, much more than other books.

Enjoyable insight into the life of Ben Franklin

What made the experience of listening to The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin the most enjoyable?

Grover Gardner was a wonderful narrator - it felt like listening to Ben himself talking of his life and events.

Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was the first time I have listened to him, but I will anxious to listen again!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I think it would be hard to listen to in one sitting because it requires focus to take in the flowery language and sentence structure used two hundred years ago. I listened during my morning commute of 30 minutes, which was perfect.

Any additional comments?

That is was an autobiography made the book all the more interesting. Benjamin Franklin was brilliant and was able to accomplish much in his lifetime. The book was hard to follow at times, but overall was outstanding and helps the reader to understand our history and the men who molded the foundations of our county.

Extraordinary

I feel like I am walking with Ben Franklin as he recounts the remarkable paces of his life.

Too bad it had to end so quickly!!

You get a real feel for the man with an autobio and the narrator did an excellent job. But as the previous reviewer stated, it ended early in his life so you don't get to have his perspective on the revolution & independence. Still well worth the money and the time. If you love history, you'll love this first person perspective of the first half of the 1700's.

Solid Read

Wonderfully written and several times went into the details of how Franklin did the things he did. Can tell how he described his actions compared to those around him that his priorities were on a completely different level. Team Frugal and Team learn would both pickup BF as captain

Excellent HIstory

Would you consider the audio edition of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to be better than the print version?

If you enjoy history you will enjoy this book. I loved the narration and the whit of Benjamin Franklin.

Ben thru 1757

Enjoyable rendering, giving some feel in a surprisingly easy to listen style. Unfortunately, the account ends in 1757 with his arrival in England.

Inspiration

Franklin inspires anyone that find yourself in extreme difficulties to keep a straight intelectual life together with a hard working day.