The Life of Benjamin Franklin


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.1 stars; 7 reviews)

This little book was intended for the education of school children and includes tales, sketches and anecdotes of his life written for the children of the mid 1800's and written in the English language of that period. Each chapter has numerous questions intended for the the reader or the teacher to quiz themselves to see if they gathered the pertinent information. The quiz questions will not be recorded. Also part of this book are numerous short essays written by Franklin on various topics. These entertaining and insightful samples occupy sections 17 through 27. (Summary by phil chenevert)

Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography

Language: English

Keyword(s): biography (340), Benjamin Franklin (13)

(3 hr 58 min)

Chapters

Chapter I 12:15 Read by maryagneskatherine
Chapter II 10:25 Read by Lee Smalley
Chapter III 9:00 Read by Lee Smalley
Chapter IV 9:09 Read by Lee Smalley
Chapter V 9:17 Read by Lee Smalley
Chapter VI 8:52 Read by Lee Smalley
Chapter VII 11:05 Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
Chapter VIII 8:46 Read by Lauren Kucma
Chapter IX 12:09 Read by Geoff Blanchard
Chapter X 11:04 Read by Geoff Blanchard
Chapter XI 11:27 Read by Sharon Kilmer
Chapter XII 10:20 Read by Patrick Wells
Chapter XIII 10:28 Read by Patrick Wells
Chapter XIV 14:02 Read by Geoff Blanchard
Chapter XV 9:19 Read by Richard Kilmer (1942-2022)
Chapter XVI 7:41 Read by Bria Snow
A True Story 3:39 Read by Greg Giordano
HANDSOME AND DEFORMED LEG 5:09 Read by Greg Giordano
ADVICE TO A YOUNG TRADESMAN 4:36 Read by Greg Giordano
NECESSARY HINTS TO THOSE THAT WOULD BE RICH 2:53 Read by Etel Buss
ON THE ART OF SWIMMING 5:44 Read by Greg Giordano
PAPER. A POEM 3:36 Read by Greg Giordano
PRELIMINARY ADDRESS TO THE PENNSYLVANIA ALMANAC, ENTITLED, "POOR RICHARD'S ALMA… 24:10 Read by Greg Giordano
OBSERVATIONS ON WAR 4:17 Read by Greg Giordano
THE WAY TO MAKE MONEY PLENTY IN EVERY MAN'S POCKET 2:58 Read by Etel Buss
MORALS OF CHESS 11:19 Read by Sharon Kilmer
CONVERSATION OF A COMPANY OF EPHEMERÆ; WITH THE SOLILOQUY OF ONE ADVANCED IN A… 5:16 Read by Greg Giordano

Reviews

Largely copied directly from Franklin's autobiography


(3 stars)

90% is copied verbatim from Franklin's auto-biography, with some ommissions regarding the corporal temptations. It is then sprinkled with a few new Anecdotes such as his visit to his mother in Boston after being away for decades, and probably the best part were found in the appendicies with letters and essays from Franklin.

it's fine but very hard to hear


(2.5 stars)