The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: The Classic Edition: Timeless Lessons on Virtue, Wealth, and Success from a Founding Father

By Benjamin Franklin, Frank Woodworth Pine, William Temple Franklin, et al.

Book Overview

From humble beginnings to iconic Founding Father...

Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is the blueprint for self-made success. Penned between 1771 and 1790, this unfinished memoir lays bare the journey of an ambitious printer's son who used grit, curiosity, and moral rigor to become a scientist, inventor, diplomat, and one of America's greatest statesmen.

In these pages, you'll discover:
- The origins of the "self-made man" and Franklin's pioneering path toward achieving the American Dream.
- The "13 virtues" Franklin meticulously crafted--from frugality and industry to sincerity and justice--that shaped his character and fueled his rise.
- His reflections on philosophy, politics, religion, education, civic duty, and innovation that remain ever-relevant today.

This classic Autobiography is more than a historical memoir--it's the original self-help narrative, a timeless guide to ambition, self-improvement, and ethical leadership.

This edition brings Franklin's wit, wisdom, and world-changing ethos straight to your hands--whether you're a history buff, entrepreneur, or lifelong learner.

Read it. Internalize it. Transform your life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1640957022
• ISBN13: 9781640957022
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Sound Wisdom
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Great man but not a great read

Extremely hard to read, keep in mind when buying this book this man was born in the 1700's. I gave up even when I tried with an audiobook.

Exactly what i wanted

This book came in excellent condition and arrived on time. it was more than i expected and just what i could hope for. i am very glad i purchased this.

Good Read for Everyone

The autobiography of Franklin was a worthwhile book to read. I suggest ignoring the footnotes as you read his autobiography since it distracts you from reading Franklin's work. It was a good book that details how industriousness results in a wonderful, useful public life at an older age. Franklin is the type of public servant that we are lacking today.

An Incomplete American Life

Well, Ben Franklin's life was not incomplete, but his autobiography is. This is partly because Franklin never intended his book for publication. He was writing it for the benefit of his son - partly as a guide for life, and partly as a family history. Indeed, on the first page, Franklin writes that he has always enjoyed hearing stories about his ancestors, and hopes his son will be as interested to learn of his father's life. However, after Franklin's break with his son, he continues to write, but now it is for the benefit of all of his ancestors. Franklin's disagreement with his son William is just one of many details that are missing from this book. I was always interested in Franklin and it had long been a goal of mine to read his autobiography. Had I known that the years 1758-1790 were not covered, which were probably the most important and influential of his life, I might not have read it. And that would have been a mistake. For although the major events of the 1770s and 1780s are missing, like the American Revolution, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitutional Convention, there is so much material about the early years of Franklin's life here that it is still a worthwhile book. Who knew Franklin was practically a champion swimmer, for example? We often think of Franklin as the elder statesman of the Founding Fathers, as indeed he was. Franklin was born 26 years before George Washington. But in this book we see Franklin as a boy and then a young man, whole periods of his life that are forgotten when one thinks of his later, great contributions. Thankfully, Franklin documents much of it, and it makes for terrific reading. His battles with his brother, his early struggles with established religion, his bold jump to Philadelphia, and then to London, when he was still so young. He even mentions that he was a regular patron of the local prostitutes in Philadelphia! This is not something you'd see in Poor Richard's Almanac, of that I am sure. Even though the book is lacking the major events of Franklin's later life, it is still rich in anecdotes and instruction. There is much to be learned from Ben, whether he was founding the first fire department or library, or making monetary contributions to every religious denomination in Philadelphia, or his attempts at achieving "moral perfection" - actions that demonstrated his industriousness, his tolerance, his wisdom. Franklin was an incredibly fascinating character and he remains one of the giants of American history. You wouldn't know it from reading this autobiography, but it doesn't matter; the historians have safely documented his legacy in other books. In these pages, in his own words, you learn what made Franklin tick, what he believed in, and why. And that's more than enough. Five stars.