Try free for 2 months

  • Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

  • By: Walter Isaacson
  • Narrated by: Nelson Runger
  • Length: 24 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (151 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
AUD $16.45/mo after 2 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime.
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life cover art

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

By: Walter Isaacson
Narrated by: Nelson Runger
Try for $0.00

AUD $16.45/mo after 2 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $43.99

Buy Now for $43.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us - an ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings.

In best-selling author Walter Isaacson's vivid and witty full-scale biography, we discover why Franklin turns to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind his new-fangled spectacles. In Benjamin Franklin, Isaacson shows how Franklin defines both his own time and ours.

The most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first great publicist, he was consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity. His guiding principle was a "dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people". Few of his fellow founders felt this comfort with democracy so fully, and none so intuitively.

In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklin's amazing life, from his days as a runaway printer to his triumphs as a statesman, scientist, and Founding Father. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. He also shows how Franklin helped to create the American character and why he has a particular resonance in the 21st century.

©2003 Walter Isaacson (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic Reviews

"The most readable full-length Franklin biography available." ( The Washington Post Book World)
"Energetic, entertaining, and worldly." ( The New Yorker)
"In its common sense, clarity and accessibility, it is a fitting reflection of Franklin's sly pragmatism.... This may be the book that most powerfully drives a new pendulum swing of the Franklin reputation." ( The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    106
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    94
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    97
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Rather verbose

Published in 2003 this biography gilds the lily about Franklin. I am definitely a fan of Franklin, although not the writing style of Isaacson. Like a lot of American writers he could use one word where he uses two. He talks about the American Dream, but this is a rather old fashioned concept, especially in the time of Trump. I completed the book, but it was hard work. Too much is made of the US, especially when one considers the Founding Fathers dream is collapsing under its own lost vision. Slavery has been replaced by the huge prison population, murders and the lack of a social security safety network; I suspect Franklin would agree if he was alive today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great insight to an ingenius human

It is a very thorough account of Franklins life and contributions to the world. I was looking for an overview of his influence through invention and politics. This production covers those points in detail. It is amazing how many letters were recovered from events that took place over 300 years ago that were used as content.

There was too much time spent on his personal relationships for my liking, but I guess that is detail others may be seeking.

I now understand more about Ben Franklin and why many people admire his accomplishments.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly executed

A true master piece
3rd Walter book I have read , such a fascinating subject matter

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable & informative

A well researched, written @ narrated account of the life of a significant person of history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story.

Great story. Very well told. Very well read. I enjoyed it. Three more words.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended

A brilliant story telling by the author as usual. A fascinating life.
I also liked the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Rev
  • 28-09-2019

My kind of American hero

Fantastic Biography that gives a balanced approach to Franklin's life. my only complaint is some swallowing noises by the reader that get a bit annoying when using headphones.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent detailed description of Franklin's life

This was a great book. Isaacson is an amazing biographer. I because suite interested in American history during listening to this. The only downside is the narrator. Terrible voice chosen for reading narrating a 26 hour aduibook. Just felt the accent and the way he spoke was quite annoying to me. Would definitely recommend if you're interested in learning about an incredibly important individual who contributed greatly to humanity.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating.

There is so much to enjoy about this amazing, detailed and brilliant book about the life of this complex character.
It’s my first read of Walter Isaacson and it has left a great impression as sparkles with wit, irony and understanding which has given me a greater sense of America as a whole as well as the values which have shaped this powerful country.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes biographical works of substance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting & practical - like Franklin.

Similar to Franklin's autobiography, this is inspiring and useful as a guide for me making my way in this world. However, it is much more expansive and provides a much broader context of his life, and the impact he had on America.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.