Audiobook · read by volunteers
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
Read by Gary Gilberd · 21 chapters · 7 h 30
About the book
Benjamin Franklin began his autobiography as a letter to his son, and the family tone never quite leaves it. He recalls his childhood in Boston, his apprenticeship as a printer, his flight to Philadelphia, his first visit to London and his rise as a businessman and public figure. Along the way he describes his plan for attaining moral perfection, the founding of a library and the creation of Poor Richard's Almanac. The writing is modest, humorous and practical, a record of a man who tried to improve himself and his community. It has often been called America's first self-help book. Gary Gilberd reads the twenty-one sections, including the introduction and appendix, in about seven and a half hours. It is full of curiosity, good sense and a dry sense of humour.
Introduction
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706 and died in Philadelphia in 1790. A printer by trade, he became a writer, scientist, inventor, diplomat and statesman, and he was one of the founding fathers of the United States. He took part in drafting the Declaration of Independence, and he represented the new nation in France during the Revolutionary War.
Franklin began writing his memoirs in 1771, while visiting England, and he continued to work on them in France and in Philadelphia. The book was left incomplete at his death and was published in several versions. The text recorded here is an edition prepared by Frank Woodworth Pine, who lived from 1869 to 1919, and who edited the work for a series of classics in the early twentieth century. It covers Franklin's life up to his mission to London as agent for Pennsylvania, with an appendix.
The Autobiography is admired for its clear, friendly style and for its portrait of the emerging American character. It shows an enthusiasm for self-improvement and public service, and it provides lively details about the working life of the time. This LibriVox recording lasts about seven and a half hours and is divided into 21 sections. It is read by one volunteer, Gary Gilberd. Today it remains one of the most readable memoirs in English, and a lasting influence on the American idea of hard work.
Franklin's account is divided into episodes, which makes it ideal for listening in short sessions. His lists of virtues, his accounts of civic projects and his scientific curiosity all show a mind that never stopped looking for ways to be useful. It remains a classic of the genre.
Public domain
Benjamin Franklin died in 1790: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text