From Boyhood to Manhood: Life of Benjamin Franklin

Thayer, William Makepeace, 1820-1898Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.5
Word count
687K words
Chapters
69

Tags

English Originals General Biography Entrepreneurial JourneySocial ObservationCivic AwarenessInspirationPractical WisdomPath to SuccessSelf ImprovementMoral CultivationFamous FiguresAmerican Founding

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.From Boyhood to Manhood: Life of Benjamin Franklin by William Makepeace ThayerAuthor: Thayer, William Makepeace, 1820-1898,Language: English, Class: E300: History: America: Revolution to the Civil War (1783-1861), Release Date: Jan 1, 2006

Editor's review

This book is a biography tracing Benjamin Franklin's early years, written by 19th-century author William Makepeace Thayer and released as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. It is not a modern scholarly biography but a popular reader in the 19th-century inspirational narrative style, focusing on Franklin's growth from boyhood to manhood and suited to readers who want to understand the early struggles of an important figure in pre-independence America. The language is English, and its length and structure suit readers with some foundation in English reading. Its value lies in offering an earlier biographical perspective, letting readers see how different eras narrated Franklin's diligence, self-study, and self-formation. Readers should not expect detailed historical verification but can treat it as English biographical reading material, comparing it with Franklin's autobiography to observe narrative differences. It is suitable as a graded reader for English learners or supplementary reading for history enthusiasts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. First read the table of contents and chapter titles to grasp the timeline from boyhood to manhood, then read chapter by chapter.
  2. Keep a notebook to record new words and key events, and compare with Franklin's autobiography after finishing.
  3. Read one or two chapters a day and write two or three summary sentences in English to check comprehension.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69

FAQ

Is this book Franklin's autobiography? No. It is a biography written by William Makepeace Thayer, narrating Franklin's experiences from boyhood to manhood in the third person; it is a different book from the autobiography Franklin wrote himself.
How difficult is the English? It is a 19th-century English biography with longer sentences but not overly difficult vocabulary, suitable for readers with intermediate English reading ability. Beginners may need a dictionary.
Can this book be obtained for free? Yes. It is published by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook, and readers can find the English original on that platform.

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About the author

Thayer, William Makepeace, 1820-1898 Author

William Makepeace Thayer (1820–1898) is a figure about whom little public information is available; his writing was mainly aimed at young readers and belongs to the inspirational and character-building genre. Thayer often drew on the boyhoods of real people, telling how they rose from ordinary circumstances through diligence, self-discipline, and perseverance. His works carry a clear moral and encouraging purpose, with plain language and straightforward narration. Four of his books are held in this collection: The Printer Boy, From Farm House to the White House, The Bobbin Boy, and From Boyhood to Manhood: Life of Benjamin Franklin. Most center on the paths by which figures such as Benjamin Franklin grew from youth to maturity, showing that his focus was on using exemplary stories to inspire young people, with an emphasis on self-education and the formation of character.