The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was an extremely productive and intelligent man, responsible for many inventions we use today, such as the lightning rod, bifocal lenses and a particular type of stove. He also founded multiple organizations, libraries, fire departments and universities. He was an incredibly clever and accomplished person.

But I found this book progressively boring to read.

Benjamin Franklin was deeply involved in politics and spent a considerable amount of time transitioning between the USA and England; however, no matter how great he was, this biography gets turgid halfway through and fails to navigate its way back into clear waters because of the way it's written, as historically disjointed with great big gaps in the timelines and narratives.

It's actually pretty good stuff at the beginning in his younger days as he makes his way up the social ladder, gradually taking charge and advancing his wealth and status, but badly flounders as he ages and becomes less focused on documenting his affairs.

I could have saved myself a lot of time by skimming through Wikipedia for all the essential facts, and strangely enough, some of Benjamin Franklin's most famous quotes, which brought me here, are not featured:

"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Although this book is eye-opening in places and encouraging, it's not the self-help work of wisdom I was hoping for, so a moderate three stars from me for a great man with so much to offer the world.