Try free for 30 days
-
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 24 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Historical
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for $80.74
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Buy it with
-
Leonardo Da Vinci
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Alfred Molina
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Chris Andrews on 19-11-2018
-
The Innovators
- How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?
-
-
Great book.
- By NICK G on 29-05-2015
-
Steve Jobs
- The Exclusive Biography
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker, Walter Isaacson (introduction)
- Length: 25 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography, Walter Isaacson provides an extraordinary account of Jobs' professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs' family members and key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, this is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation.
-
-
Fantastic story
- By JPD on 13-06-2019
-
Einstein
- Sein Leben Seine Forschung Sein Vermächtnis
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Christian Baumann
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Albert Einstein ist der Inbegriff des Genies. Kein Wissenschaftler des 20. Jahrhundert hat unser Verständnis vom Universum so revolutioniert wie er. Neben den teils verschlungenen Wegen zu seinen Theorien, widmet sich das Hörbuch auch dem Menschen, der diese Wege beschritt. Es beschreibt, wie Einsteins Kindheit in Deutschland, seine Arbeit im Schweizer Patentamt, aber auch sein komplexer Charakter und die daraus folgenden familiären Begebenheiten den großen Wissenschaftler formten.
-
Zero to One
- By: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
- Narrated by: Blake Masters
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What valuable company is nobody building? The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them. It's easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to 10, adding more of something familiar. Every new creation goes from zero to one. This book is about how to get there.
-
-
Poor reading
- By Anonymous User on 04-04-2019
-
John Adams
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 29 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale, an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.
-
Leonardo Da Vinci
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Alfred Molina
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo's genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Chris Andrews on 19-11-2018
-
The Innovators
- How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?
-
-
Great book.
- By NICK G on 29-05-2015
-
Steve Jobs
- The Exclusive Biography
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker, Walter Isaacson (introduction)
- Length: 25 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography, Walter Isaacson provides an extraordinary account of Jobs' professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs' family members and key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, this is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation.
-
-
Fantastic story
- By JPD on 13-06-2019
-
Einstein
- Sein Leben Seine Forschung Sein Vermächtnis
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Christian Baumann
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Albert Einstein ist der Inbegriff des Genies. Kein Wissenschaftler des 20. Jahrhundert hat unser Verständnis vom Universum so revolutioniert wie er. Neben den teils verschlungenen Wegen zu seinen Theorien, widmet sich das Hörbuch auch dem Menschen, der diese Wege beschritt. Es beschreibt, wie Einsteins Kindheit in Deutschland, seine Arbeit im Schweizer Patentamt, aber auch sein komplexer Charakter und die daraus folgenden familiären Begebenheiten den großen Wissenschaftler formten.
-
Zero to One
- By: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
- Narrated by: Blake Masters
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What valuable company is nobody building? The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them. It's easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to 10, adding more of something familiar. Every new creation goes from zero to one. This book is about how to get there.
-
-
Poor reading
- By Anonymous User on 04-04-2019
-
John Adams
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 29 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale, an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.
-
Superintelligence
- Paths, Dangers, Strategies
- By: Nick Bostrom
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life. The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful - possibly beyond our control.
-
-
Maybe it's a good book...
- By Abner on 05-03-2019
-
The Code Breaker
- Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2012, the Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the future of the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. It has already been deployed to cure deadly diseases, fight the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and make inheritable changes in the genes of babies.
-
-
highlights a conversation that society has to have
- By Doug on 17-12-2021
-
Ignition!
- An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
- By: John Drury Clark, Isaac Asimov - foreward
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ignition! is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety. John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise that eventually took men to the moon.
-
-
I'm an analytical chemist so I may be biased
- By Anonymous User on 26-01-2020
-
Titan
- The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 35 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller’s exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book indelibly alters our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world’s richest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded "the Octopus" by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America.
-
-
Amazing story of rags to icon
- By Arthur Wilson on 10-12-2016
-
Andrew Carnegie
- By: David Nasaw
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Scottish-born son of a failed weaver and a mother who supported the family by binding shoes, Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream. In his rise from a job as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory to being the richest man in the world, he was single-minded, relentless and a major player in some of the most violent and notorious labor strikes of the time. The prototype of today's billionaire, he was a visionary in the way he earned his money and in the way he gave it away.
-
-
He Lived Well left a Legacy
- By Arthur Wilson on 15-03-2018
-
The House of Morgan
- An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece.
-
-
Solid history of a institution
- By B. van Caspel on 27-03-2017
-
Elon Musk
- By: Ashlee Vance
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
South African-born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films starring Robert Downey, Jr.
-
-
An underwhelming narrative of a really cool guy
- By Michael on 17-06-2016
-
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order
- Why Nations Succeed or Fail
- By: Ray Dalio
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Ray Dalio
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the international best seller Principles, who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history’s most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we’ve experienced in our lifetimes - but similar to those that have happened many times before.
-
-
Informative but not without bias
- By Craig on 14-01-2022
-
Churchill
- Walking with Destiny
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 50 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been over a thousand previous biographies of Churchill. Andrew Roberts now draws on over 40 new sources, including the private diaries of King George VI, used in no previous Churchill biography, to depict him more intimately and persuasively than any of its predecessors.
-
-
good history
- By roger on 23-11-2018
-
1776
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: David McCullough
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this stirring audiobook, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence, when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.
-
-
good, but could have been great.
- By Anonymous User on 09-05-2021
-
A Man for All Markets
- From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market
- By: Edward O. Thorp, Nassim Nicholas Taleb - foreword
- Narrated by: Edward O. Thorp
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The incredible true story of the card-counting mathematics professor who taught the world how to beat the dealer and, as the first of the great quantitative investors, ushered in a revolution on Wall Street.
-
-
too much credit taking, not enough story
- By Anonymous User on 29-04-2021
-
Six Easy Pieces
- Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Designed for non-scientists, Six Easy Pieces is an unparalleled introduction to the world of physics by one of the greatest teachers of all time.
-
-
Would be better with visuals of the blackboard
- By Daniel on 09-09-2021
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.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ryan
- 14-05-2015
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.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 25-06-2022
Great story.
Great story. Very well told. Very well read. I enjoyed it. Three more words.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hiro
- 24-01-2021
Highly recommended
A brilliant story telling by the author as usual. A fascinating life.
I also liked the narrator.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nathan
- 01-04-2019
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.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard
- 07-01-2019
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.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 23-06-2018
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.
-
Overall
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 10-01-2018
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.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Self made man
- 25-10-2017
Another great book by Walter
Another great book by Walter, I enjoyed learning about the life of Benjamin Franklin and how he evolved to be the man he is
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dean
- 02-12-2015
Benjamin Franklin
Fascinating. Enlightening. Compelling. Well worth the time. He invented bi-focal glasses - who would have thunk it!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Brad Barker
- 08-06-2013
My kinda founding father...mostly...
This was a very good biography, which is something I've come to pleasingly expect when I start a Walter Isaacson work. My knowledge of Benjamin Franklin was limited to the near caricature of him taught in school back in my day, along with little bits and pieces from various documentaries I've watched during my adult life. I had no feeling for who the real person was behind the historical figure. Now, I believe I do, somewhat. Which, in itself reflects a good review of this book. Without going into too much of a summary of Benjamin Franklin himself, I think it's worth noting the light that the book shines on him. Ben Franklin was a practical man. A man who, when he saw a need, tried to find a practical solution to address that need. Whether it be protecting a house from bolts of lightning with his lightning rod, to helping design a constitution for a fledgling country whose states were in dire need of it. He believed in the middle class, and believed that excessive wealth, luxury, idleness and inheritable elitism was the root of much of the corruption in England at the time. He was a man who believed in religious tolerance, like many of the founding fathers, because religious dogma could be divisive, and not conducive democratic public discourse. He was a man who understood compromise and the need for it in a true democracy. Personally, he had vices like anyone else. He tended to enjoy spending time with his friends abroad better than his family back home. He often enjoyed the company various women throughout his life, to the dismay of some of his more puritanical political opponents. Contrary to many of his "Poor Richard" aphorisms, in his later years Franklin enjoyed late evenings with friends, wine, and chess. In the end, the book leaves you with the feeling that you may have known person behind the image a bit. He was a remarkable person, and this book is an excellent read for anyone interested in Benjamin Franklin, the man, and the historical figure.
107 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cathi
- 20-07-2013
Good book, not crazy about the narrator
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, if they are interested in learning about the founding fathers and in the life of scientists.
What other book might you compare Benjamin Franklin: An American Life to and why?
Washington: A Life. They are comprehensive biographies that portray their subjects as actual humans, with virtues and flaws, and make you feel close to them, their way of thinking, and how they became great historic icons.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
While his tone and articulation were very good, I cannot say the same about the frequent "mouth" sounds throughout the narration. You can hear him stopping to drink water, swallowing, and making other sounds that are distracting, annoying, and a little disgusting. I know that your mouth can become dry from narrating such a long book, but I have listened to the George Washington biography, Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and other equally long books, without these "sound effects".
I think the narrator was good, but the sound production team could have worked better at filtering the sounds.
138 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jeremy
- 14-09-2011
Great read. Some areas disjointed, but solid bio.
Isaacson does a great job defining and realizing the character of Benjamin Franklin. You know him. You know him to the point where the last few chapters become predictive. Not the writing. But the last few chapters of Franklin's life.
Perhaps most astonishing is the way sheer mass of Franklin's legacy. It's written on the parchment of America's story in so many ways defining culture, government, philosophy, arts, finance, and even the sense of a self-deprecating comedic undertones to American Life.
Runger's reading was spot on. Especially the "character" voices he would use to go in and out of quoted text.
35 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mr. Micah Peterson
- 29-12-2016
Great book, good enough reading, but poor sound editing
Loved the book! Walter Isaacson is thorough and balanced. Great history lesson as Benjamin Franklin was a big player in a the American Revolution.
The reader was good, most voices done well, but his Ben Franklin voice is annoying through the whole book. The sound editing is not good and you often hear the reader swallowing and other saliva noises. After 24 hours of these noises, you start to get annoyed.
22 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Fun boy
- 13-01-2016
Good story; kinda hokey narration
While the folksy narrating did grow on me and I came to understand it's rationale after listening to more of the story of Franklin's persona as a folksy scientist philosopher, I found the narrating at times distracting. That being said, the importance of the full scope of Franklin's life and the fascinating course that it charted through the colonial to revolutionary period in the nascent United States and the seeds of change in Europe that he either sowed or witnessed, make his story one worth knowing. The story makes some excuses for his cold dismissal (and possible neglect) of his family and it is here, with those serious and grave topics that the folksy narration draws too stark a contrast between narration and content.
Overall, it's worth the time because this man's story is so integral to the story of the establishment of the American story. I hope another biographer will take Franklin to task (McCullough or Chernow)...
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- P. Adlfinger
- 04-06-2012
Warring on the Performance
How did the narrator detract from the book?
The narrator must really love his peanut butter. If you are sensitive to disgusting mouth sounds, this book is not for you. The Audible-page sample audio is pretty clean and not so ??representative of the mind-numbing 24-plus hours. If you listen in the car or another noisy environment, you will be fine. Otherwise, be warned.??
80 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ryan
- 04-06-2015
Disgusting Mouth Noises by reader!!
Would you try another book from Walter Isaacson and/or Nelson Runger?
Walter Isaacson's story was great.
The narrator Nelson Runger was absolutely disgusting with his mouth noises and completely distracted from the story.
What didn’t you like about Nelson Runger’s performance?
Mouth noises!!! Do not, I repeat do not buy this book if you do not like someone smacking/licking his lips in your ear. He swallows very loudly and makes strange noises way too frequently while reading. How hard is it to turn your head away from the mic?! The pauses he takes to drink and swallow distracts from the story as they are sometimes up to 5 seconds long, almost like a break between chapters.
I will NEVER purchase a book read by this author again!!
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Anger that the narrator was so bad!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- J.D
- 07-01-2018
Suprisingly disappointing
I have read Isaacson's books and like them all; I love reading the biographies of early Americans, but this one just had something missing. Frankline is portrayed as too perfect; the narrator was too chipper; I didn't finish the book although I listened to most of it.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JD
- 07-10-2016
Poor editing
The reader was great but I heard him swallow about 100 times and smack his lips. Why wasn't that edited out? It was very distracting and effected my enjoyment of the otherwise good material.
27 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- shira
- 15-06-2016
The narration is too slow
I had to listen on 1.5 speed, which sounded a bit awkward. I wish the narrator spoke faster and more naturally
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Maddy
- 26-03-2013
Highly recommended
This was recommended by a friend who read the book, and I was not disappointed by the audio version. I knew next to nothing about Franklin and little about the American process of independence and I found this biography really interesting about both the man and his time. It was a compelling listen and fascinating. Now I'd like to find a biography of his wife, who must have been an extraordinary woman in her own right! Highly recommended.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kirstine
- 29-12-2013
An inspiring story of a polymath
I knew that Franklin was important in the formulation of the American Constitution and that he played a part in the understanding of electricity, but had not realized how impressive were his other scientific investigations nor how influential he was in international negotiations over independence from Britain. His life from humble beginnings to world fame is an inspiring story of self-education and hard work coupled with an admirable tolerance to all religious creeds and a playful sense of humour. The book is an engaging listen as his far from perfect personal life and extraordinary public one are interwoven with the domestic concerns and important moments in history.
The reader has just the right amount of folksy charm to narrate this fascinating biography.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Teval Stephens
- 20-08-2019
Long story
Interesting and informative, insightful and educational although very very long. It's like a 90 minute yoga class, you know it good for you but you cannot wait for it to finish
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- John-Paul M.
- 11-08-2020
A must read!
A fantastic account of an extraordinary life - learnings and insights galore. Biographies such as this one should be compulsory reading in school. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- NH Stevens
- 11-08-2019
A perfect biography, perfectly read.
My life was almost completely on hold as I was instantly pulled into the beautifully read and fascinating life of the man who could truly be called “the first American”.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 16-08-2018
A Highly Recommend Read
This was my first interaction with a book about Benjamin Franklin that I found captured the great man's life and presented it in such a way that captures even the most casual readers interest in American history and of scientific research and his quick with made it even more enjoyable.
I would and have recommended this book to numerous people who don't know where to start in reading about him. Even though his own biography is quite the read I find this book quite engaging and evenly spaced.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- George
- 13-12-2020
Narrators heavy breathing was distracting.
Great book, fantastic book, but the narrators heavy breathing was so annoying. I’ve never heard this on any audio book prior to this.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JCM
- 21-07-2019
Outstanding Book about an Outstanding Character
Most know about the caricature Ben Franklin but this well-researched biography goes much, much deeper; sometimes portraying Franklin in less than glowing light. The performance by Nelson Runger is fantastic; well cadenced and good character voices. Even if you are not 'into' history this is worth one of your Audible credits. Onto John Adams!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Art
- 14-01-2022
Great
Great story telling Biography.
Worth much more than just reading.
Enjoy reading, it is quite long.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Brad
- 30-12-2021
Ben Franklin was a fascinating character
The audiobook is a bit long, but what a fascinating character Ben Franklin was. A real renaissance man. It was good but would have liked it cut down to half its length. I finished it, and found some of it absolutely unforgettable so I'm glad I persisted with it.
16 Best Audiobooks by Aboriginal Authors
Across genres, there’s no shortage of brilliant titles from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers of Australia.



16 Audiobooks Full of Life Hacks to Live By
Looking to improve yourself mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually? This is where to start.



14 Feel-Good Audiobooks to Brighten Up Your Day
The Audible library is packed with feel-good audiobooks that will lighten the soul and fill the heart with joy.


