Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Issacson

This book about Benjamin Franklin is a mix of a few of pages of secrets clocked with adoring sentences about Franklin's amazing inventions, long list of morals, calm discussion tactics and friendly personality. At first I was bored reading long sentences about Franklin's way of teaching himself to write better and other little bits of information that made him such a good person. It moved very slowly. But then I began to find out more things. Funny little stories about Franklin or ones that he wrote. As I read on I found out more things that make Franklin a person, not an unreachable character from history. There were somethings that made me laugh out loud, frown or even exclaim in anger.

By the end of the book I was full of conflicting emotions. I couldn't tell if Franklin was a genius, a friendly, social man and a great patriot, or a sour, creepy man who was quite capable of being a hypocrite.

Franklin is a man we learn about in school from early on, the man who flew a kite and discovered the power of lightening. However we don't find out that he was helped create and then sign many extremely important early American documents. He worked in public service until he was in his 80s. He invented many practical things, so many that they aren't all talked about even in the book. He also stayed in Europe for the last 15 years of his marriage, never seeing his wife again. He could rarely keep a male friend, but made female friends at ease, particularly younger ones. Only read this book if you have the patience to reread a few sentences during the boring parts. However by the end of the book you'll be glad you read it. And you'll sound smart when you tell your friends you're reading a book about Benjamin Franklin and show them the thickness of it.

Recommended to ages 13 and Up