Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Name: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
ISBN: 9787508642956

Walter IsaacsonCITIC Press2015

4.2

Word count: 368K words
Chapters: 21
ISBN: 9787508642956

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Summary

This book is the Chinese translation of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by the American biographer Walter Isaacson, translated by Sun Yuning. The book proceeds chronologically, beginning with Franklin's poor origins in Boston: his father was a candle maker and soap maker, there were seventeen children in the family, he was one of the younger ones, attended school for only two years before dropping out, and at twelve was apprenticed at his brother James's print shop. The book recounts how he made up for his education through borrowing books and self-study, submitted pieces under the pen name "Silence Dogood," ran away to Philadelphia after a quarrel with his brother, went to London after being cheated, and eventually returned to Philadelphia to open a print shop, start the Pennsylvania Gazette, publish Poor Richard's Almanack, and gather a group of like-minded friends through the Junto. The middle section presents Franklin as a promoter of public causes: he founded a library, pushed for the establishment of a college and a hospital, organized a volunteer fire company and a militia, and served as postmaster; it also recounts his experiments with electricity, the lightning-kite experiment and his ideas for the lightning rod, and his invention of practical devices such as the "Pennsylvania fireplace." The latter part turns to politics and diplomacy: the Albany Plan of Union, his lobbying in London on behalf of the colonies, his participation in drafting the Declaration of Independence, his mission to France to secure the Franco-American alliance, his negotiation of the peace treaty in Paris, and finally his return to Philadelphia to take part in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and, in the last stage of his life, his service as president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Isaacson also focuses on the contradictions in Franklin's character: industry and thrift versus a love of pleasure, a practical moral program versus emotional distance from his family, social ease versus inner loneliness. The final chapter and conclusion assess these traits, and the book includes a cast of characters of Franklin's era and a chronology.

Editor's review

写富兰克林的人很多，但能把这位“最现代的美国国父”写得既好玩又可信的并不多。艾萨克森的优势在于他做过《时代》周刊总编，也写过《史蒂夫·乔布斯传》《爱因斯坦：生活和宇宙》——他擅长把复杂的人拆成几条清晰可辨的性格线索，再放回时代背景里重新缝合。这本传记主线清晰：一个只读过两年书的孩子如何用印刷机、笔杆和社交能力挤进费城的上升通道，又怎样把个人的“道德完善计划”扩展为公共图书馆、学院、消防队、民团这样的制度安排。写到电学实验与出使法国时，叙事节奏明显加快，巴黎部分尤其生动。书中对富兰克林与亚当斯、伏尔泰的对照，以及他与妻子德博拉、儿子威廉之间那种“和蔼却不深情”的关系，是全书最有分量的部分。《纽约时报》《华盛顿邮报图书世界》《福布斯》等媒体对本书评价颇高，认为它兼顾考据与可读性。中文版由孙豫宁翻译，行文顺畅，附录的人物表和年表对不熟悉 18 世纪北美与欧洲的读者很友好。如果你想通过一个人理解美国精神中“务实、勤勉、自我经营”的那一面，这本书是个很好的入口。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对美国建国史和国父群像感兴趣的读者
喜欢艾萨克森《乔布斯传》文风的传记读者
想从人物身上获取自我管理与长期主义启发的职场人
需要 18 世纪北美与欧洲历史背景材料的学生与教师

Not a good fit for

希望读一本轻松短篇故事、不愿读长篇史料的读者
偏好强情节小说式叙述、对人物心理虚构有期待的读者
只想找富兰克林本人自传的读者（本书是后人传记而非自传）

Reading tips

先读结语与附录年表，理清时间线，再回头读正文会更顺
可对照《富兰克林自传》阅读，比较传主自述与传记作者判断之间的差异
关注书中反复出现的主题：印刷业、共读社、电学实验、外交谈判，并标记各主题涉及的文献线索
巴黎与制宪会议两段建议慢读，那是理解富兰克林政治判断力的关键

About the publisher

CITIC Press China · Founded in 1988

Founded in 1988 and affiliated with China CITIC Group, CITIC Press focuses on business and economics, social sciences, literature and children's books, with common categories covering social sciences, finance, literature, Eastern philosophy and literary appreciation. Its library holds 91 titles, including Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens trilogy, Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Wu Xiaobo's Thirty Years of Strife: Chinese Enterprises 1978–2008, Nelly Sachs's The Weight of Butterflies: Selected Poems of Nelly Sachs, as well as New Interpretations of the Analects and Chiang Hsun's lectures on Dream of the Red Chamber. Its authors and translators include Lin Junhong, Ba Shusong, Chen Li and Chang Fen-ling. Overall, the press introduces influential works in finance and social sciences while balancing classic translation and local appreciation in literature and Eastern philosophy, combining academic depth with accessible reading.

Chapter 1: Benjamin Franklin and the Birth of America
Chapter 2: The Pilgrim's Progress (Boston, 1706–1723)
Chapter 3: The Apprentice Years (Philadelphia and London, 1723–1726)
Chapter 4: The Printer from Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1726–1732)
Chapter 5: The Public Citizen (Philadelphia, 1731–1748)
Chapter 6: Scientist and Inventor (Philadelphia)
Chapter 7: The Road to Politics (Philadelphia)
Chapter 8: The Politician
Chapter 9: The Arrival of Visitors
Chapter 10: Colonial Representative
Chapter 11: The London Years
Chapter 12: The Road to Independence
Chapter 13: The Courtier (Paris, 1776–1778)
Chapter 14: The Social Virtuoso, the Greedy Eater (Paris, 1778–1785)
Chapter 15: The Peacemaker (Paris, 1778–1785)
Chapter 16: The Sage (Philadelphia, 1785–1790)
Chapter 17: Epilogue
Conclusion: Reflections on History
Appendix 1: Cast of Characters of Franklin's Era
Appendix 2: Chronology of Franklin's Era
Acknowledgments

FAQ

这本书和《富兰克林自传》是一回事吗？

不是，两本书完全不同。《富兰克林自传》是富兰克林本人晚年写给儿子的回忆录，只写到 1758 年前后就中断了。本书是沃尔特·艾萨克森依据大量档案与书信写成的完整传记，覆盖富兰克林一生，包括自传未涉及的外交与制宪岁月。

没读过美国史，能直接读吗？

可以。作者基本按时间顺序叙事，并在关键节点交代背景；中文版还附有富兰克林时期人物表和年表。若遇到奥尔巴尼联盟、印花税法案等事件感到陌生，可随时翻看附录年表。

这本书的出版信息是什么？

中文版由孙豫宁翻译，中信出版集团出版，ISBN 为 978-7-5086-4295-6，平装，约 600 页；不同印次标注的出版时间有 2015 年与 2016 年两种。

作者的立场客观吗？

艾萨克森对富兰克林抱有欣赏，但并不回避其缺点，例如对家人的情感疏离、在奴隶制问题上的长期沉默与晚年转变。结语部分明确讨论了富兰克林评价随时代起落的现象。

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About the author

Walter Isaacson Author · American · 1952

Walter Isaacson is an American biographer and journalist born in New Orleans in 1952. He graduated from Harvard University and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Over his career, he has served as editor of Time magazine, chairman and CEO of CNN, and president of the Aspen Institute; he is currently a professor of history at Tulane University. Isaacson is known for his biographies, including bestsellers on Henry Kissinger, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci, and Elon Musk. His work places his subjects in their historical context and uses narrative prose to portray their character and creativity. The library holds his work Thinking Without Limits: A Guide to Getting Things Done for Dedicated Professionals (10 volumes), classified under management. Public information is limited, so this introduction is based only on the known details above.