Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook36 hours
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
Written by H. W. Brands
Narrated by Nelson Runger
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this audiobook
Historian H.W. Brands' acclaimed, comprehensive biography of Ben Franklin--the first in over 60 years--made the New York Times best-seller list, was a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, and earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination. The New Yorker hails, "Like its subject, this biography is both solid and enchanting." Many consider Franklin the most fascinating American man who ever lived. A scientist, businessman, diplomat, author, inventor, philosopher and politician, he is America's original Renaissance man. His remarkable and varied accomplishments include the discovery of electricity and the modernization of the postal system. Brilliant and bawdy, a master statesman and a cultural icon, Franklin was so important and popular in his day that, according to the author, "... only Washington mattered as much." Drawing from a wealth of sources, including previously unpublished letters to and from Franklin, Brands creates an unforgettable tribute to a man for the ages. Nelson Runger's narration highlights the incredible events and fascinating personality traits that made Franklin a legend.
More audiobooks from H. W. Brands
The Money Men: Capitalism, Democracy, and the Hundred Years' War over the American Dollar The Heartbreak of Aaron Burr Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The First American
Related audiobooks
Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wilson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Course of Human Events Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Patriots: Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Making of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America's Most Perilous Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thomas Jefferson: American Revolutionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Hallowed Ground: A History of the Civil War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower, and a Dangerous World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51864: Lincoln at the Gates of History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Coming Fury: The Centennial History of the Civil War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Republics: A Continental History of the United States 1783-1850 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5After Lincoln: How the North Won the Civil War and Lost the Peace Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/51932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR-Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5James Madison Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5James Monroe: A Republican Champion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Historical Biographies For You
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Bondage and My Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lincoln Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nine Years Among the Indians, 1870-1879: The Story of the Captivity and Life of a Texan Among the Indians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Benjamin Franklin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Professor and The Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A. Lincoln: A Biography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shakespeare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related podcast episodes
Booknotes + : Stacy Schiff, "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams" 0% found this document usefulThe Legacy of Ross Perot: He’s more than the caricature we all remember. 0% found this document usefulRick Atkinson: The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777: Author Rick Atkinson returns to the PMML to discuss his latest book titled The British Are Coming, which is the first volume of his new trilogy about the American Revolution. 100% found this document usefulEpisode 502: The Highgate Vampire 0% found this document usefulOur War with Mexico 0% found this document usefulNicholas Christakis On Covid And Friendship 0% found this document useful329: Andrew Jackson & The Creek War w/ Peter Cozzens 0% found this document usefulAnalysis of the Greatest Speeches in American History-Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death 0% found this document usefulRichard Kreitner, “The Almanac: 150 Years of The Nation (5)” 0% found this document useful
Related articles
The Tragedy of Edmund Morris The AtlanticArticle
The Tragedy of Edmund Morris
May 28, 2019
5 min readIn The Land Of Steady Habits, Biographer Robert Caro Prepares The Final LBJ Volume TIMEArticle
In The Land Of Steady Habits, Biographer Robert Caro Prepares The Final LBJ Volume
Apr 15, 2019
5 min readDavid McCullough's Collected Speeches Will Give Your 'American Spirit' A Boost NPRArticle
David McCullough's Collected Speeches Will Give Your 'American Spirit' A Boost
Apr 22, 2017
3 min readBen Franklin Was The Most Famous American Of His Era. Ken Burns' New Doc Shows Why Los Angeles TimesArticle
Ben Franklin Was The Most Famous American Of His Era. Ken Burns' New Doc Shows Why
Apr 4, 2022
4 min readMeet A.D. Smith, Forgotten Libertarian Abolitionist Hero and Would-Be President of Canada ReasonArticle
Meet A.D. Smith, Forgotten Libertarian Abolitionist Hero and Would-Be President of Canada
Oct 25, 2019
5 min read“Welcome Not Those Brazen Human Fleshmongers… Have No Fellowship With These Merciless Menstealers” BBC History MagazineArticle
“Welcome Not Those Brazen Human Fleshmongers… Have No Fellowship With These Merciless Menstealers”
Jul 9, 2020
7 min readLove, Hate … Indifference: Is US-UK Relationship Still Special? The GuardianArticle
Love, Hate … Indifference: Is US-UK Relationship Still Special?
Apr 28, 2019
8 min readT.J. Stiles: How Do We Explain This National Tragedy? This Trump? Literary HubArticle
T.J. Stiles: How Do We Explain This National Tragedy? This Trump?
Jan 31, 2018
10 min readHow We Came Together The American ScholarArticle
How We Came Together
Jun 1, 2020
5 min readAnniversaries BBC History MagazineArticle
Anniversaries
Feb 20, 2020
5 min readWhat Was the Biggest Scandal of All Time? The AtlanticArticle
What Was the Biggest Scandal of All Time?
Jan 29, 2019
2 min read‘A Sickening Sight’ Civil War TimesArticle
‘A Sickening Sight’
Aug 15, 2023
11 min readAnimal Tracks American HistoryArticle
Animal Tracks
Jul 24, 2018
4 min readLetters BBC History MagazineArticle
Letters
May 11, 2023
I must add a name to Richard Vinen’s piece (April) on the first families of Birmingham: Nettlefold. John Sutton Nettlefold was married to Margaret Chamberlain and became chairman of the Housing Committee for the City of Birmingham. Like Cadbury, he c
4 min readA Klansman’s Horrific Reign American HistoryArticle
A Klansman’s Horrific Reign
Aug 15, 2023
12 min readThe Atlantic Daily: Gathering Storm The AtlanticArticle
The Atlantic Daily: Gathering Storm
Aug 25, 2017
4 min readQ&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER History RevealedArticle
Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
Mar 16, 2023
6 min readWinston Churchill, Meet Winston Churchill Finest HourArticle
Winston Churchill, Meet Winston Churchill
Nov 5, 2020
6 min readThe Supreme Act Of Trust Country LifeArticle
The Supreme Act Of Trust
Aug 10, 2022
5 min readButchering the Mythic West Journal of Alta CaliforniaArticle
Butchering the Mythic West
Jan 5, 2021
14 min read5 Top Biographies Of March The Christian Science MonitorArticle
5 Top Biographies Of March
Mar 19, 2019
A wide-ranging collection of biographies includes a Hollywood special effects artist, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, a sculptor, and a Soviet dissident writer.
2 min readSalvaging Secession ReasonArticle
Salvaging Secession
Sep 18, 2020
5 min readHalf Horse, Half Gator And All Hogwash Wild WestArticle
Half Horse, Half Gator And All Hogwash
Nov 26, 2019
11 min readAffairs Of Honour TracesArticle
Affairs Of Honour
Nov 27, 2023
5 min readSacred monster FERDINAND MOUNT The OldieArticle
Sacred monster FERDINAND MOUNT
Aug 25, 2021
5 min readThe Misunderstood Queen Country LifeArticle
The Misunderstood Queen
Aug 3, 2022
5 min readA Nation of Enemies Mother JonesArticle
A Nation of Enemies
Feb 1, 2018
19 min readQ&A BBC History MagazineArticle
Q&A
Apr 14, 2022
4 min read10 QUOTATIONS THAT DEFINED THE 20th CENTURY History RevealedArticle
10 QUOTATIONS THAT DEFINED THE 20th CENTURY
Sep 30, 2021
7 min readLetters BBC History MagazineArticle
Letters
Jun 8, 2023
Robin Ashcroft’s excellent account of the 1953 conquest of Everest (June) reminded me of how the happy news eventually found its way back to London. The Times newspaper had acquired the rights to reports on the expedition’s progress, but was unsure a
3 min read
Reviews for The First American
Rating: 4.833333333333333 out of 5 stars
5/5
6 ratings0 reviews