The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin

Enriched edition. Exploring the Intellectual Climate of Colonial America and the Age of EnlightenmentBy Benjamin Franklin

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About this audiobook

The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin presents a comprehensive collection of the writings of one of America's Founding Fathers, encompassing his philosophical reflections, scientific experiments, political essays, and witty correspondence. Through Franklin's engaging prose, which seamlessly blends Enlightenment ideals with practical wisdom, readers are introduced to the evolution of an American identity characterized by reason, humor, and civic responsibility. The literary style showcases a mastery of rhetorical devices and an accessible narrative that invites both reflection and discourse, embodying the spirit of 18th-century Enlightenment thought. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a polymath whose life experiences as a printer, inventor, and diplomat uniquely positioned him to explore themes of self-improvement, community service, and the pursuit of knowledge. His early life as a tradesman in colonial Philadelphia cultivated a belief in the importance of education and civic duty, leading him to forge a path that embraced innovation and advocacy for individual rights. Franklin's interactions with contemporaries such as Thomas Jefferson and his involvement in the founding of the United States heavily influenced the content presented in this collection. This definitive edition is a valuable resource for scholars and general readers alike, offering profound insights into the foundational ideas that shaped American democracy and identity. Readers will find Franklin's wit, wisdom, and practical advice not only historically significant but also remarkably relevant in today's world, making this work a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the interplay of intellect and action in the formation of a nation. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.

Political Intrigue Rebellion Satire Exploration Coming of Age Journey Identity Hero

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.3 (136)

Includes Amazon, Goodreads

GenreLiterary Classics

Length49 hrs 6 mins

Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices

FormateBook with Audio

Publish dateJan 12, 2024

LanguageEnglish

1Introduction

2Introduction

3Author Biography

4Historical Context

5Synopsis (Selection)

Show all chapters

6Autobiography

7INTRODUCTORY NOTE

8PART I (pt. 1)

9PART I (pt. 2)

10PART II

11PART III (pt. 1)

12PART III (pt. 2)

13PART IV

14CHIEF EVENTS IN FRANKLIN&#x27;S LIFE

15INTRODUCTORY LETTER

16Wonderful Effect of Points. — Positive and negative Electricity. — Electrical Kiss. — Counterfeit Spider. — Simple and commodious electrical Machine

17Observations on the Leyden Bottle, with Experiments proving the different electrical State of its different Surfaces

18Farther Experiments confirming the preceding Observations. — Leyden Bottle analysed. — Electrical Battery. — Magical Picture. — Electrical Wheel or Jack. — Electrical Feast

19Observations and Suppositions, towards forming a new Hypothesis, for explaining the several Phenomena of Thunder-Gusts

20Introductory Letter to some additional Papers

21Accumulation of the electrical Fire proved to be in the electrified Glass. — Effect of Lightning on the Needle of Compasses, explained. — Gunpowder fired by the electric Flame

22Unlimited Nature of the electric Force

23The Terms, electric per se, and non-electric, improper. — New Relation between Metals and Water. — Effects of Air in electrical Experiments. — Experiment for discovering more of the Qualities of the electric Fluid

24Mistake, that only Metals and Water were Conductors, rectified. — Supposition of a Region of electric Fire above our Atmosphere. — Theorem concerning Light. — Poke-Weed a Cure for Cancers

25New Experiments. — Paradoxes inferred from them. — Difference in the Electricity of a Globe of Glass charged, and a Globe of Sulphur. — Difficulty of ascertaining which is positive and which negative

26Probable Cause of the Different Attractions and Repulsions of the two electrified Globes mentioned in the two preceding Letters

27Reasons for supposing, that the glass Globe charges positively, and the Sulphur negatively. — Hint respecting a leather Globe for Experiments when travelling

28Electrical Kite

29Hypothesis, of the Sea being the grand Source of Lightning, retracted. Positive, and sometimes negative, Electricity of the Clouds discovered. — New Experiments and Conjectures in Support of this Discovery. — Observations recommended for ascertaining the Direction of the electric Fluid. — Size of Rods for Conductors to Buildings. — Appearance of a Thunder-Cloud described

30Additional Proofs of the positive and negative State of Electricity in the Clouds. — New Method of ascertaining it

31EXPERIMENTS

32Turkey killed by Electricity. — Effect of a Shock on the Operator in making the Experiment

33Differences in the Qualities of Glass. — Account of Domien, an Electrician and Traveller. — Conjectures respecting the Pores of Glass. — Origin of the Author&#x27;s Idea of drawing down Lightning. — No satisfactory Hypothesis respecting the Manner in which Clouds become electrified. — Six Men knocked down at once by an electrical Shock. — Reflections on the Spirit of Invention

34Beccaria&#x27;s Work on Electricity. — Sentiments of Franklin on pointed Rods, not fully understood in Europe. — Effect of Lightning on the Church of Newbury, in New England. — Remarks on the Subject

35Notice of another Packet of Letters

36Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman in Boston, to Benjamin Franklin, Esq. concerning the crooked Direction, and the Source of Lightning, and the Swiftness of the electric Fire

37Observations on the Subjects of the preceding Letter. — Reasons for supposing the Sea to be the grand source of Lightning. — Reasons for doubting this hypothesis. — Improvement in a Globe for raising the Electric Fire

38Effect of Lightning on Captain Waddel&#x27;s Compass, and the Dutch Church at New York

39Proposal of an Experiment to measure the Time taken up by an Electric Spark, in moving through any given Space. By J. A. Esq. of New-York

40Experiments on boiling Water, and Glass heated by boiling Water. — Doctrine of Repulsion in electrised Bodies doubted. — Electricity of the Atmosphere at different Heights. — Electrical Horse-race. — Electrical Thermometer. — In what Cases the electrical Fire produces Heat. — Wire lengthened by Electricity. — Good Effect of a Rod on the House of Mr. West, of Philadelphia

41Answer to some of the foregoing Subjects. — How long the Leyden Bottle may be kept charged. — Heated Glass rendered permeable by the electric Fluid. — Electrical Attraction and Repulsion. — Reply to other Subjects in the preceding Paper. — Numerous Ways of kindling Fire. — Explosion of Water. — Knobs and Points

42Accounts from Carolina (mentioned in the foregoing Letter) of the Effects of Lightning on two of the Rods commonly affixed to Houses there, for securing them against Lightning

43Mr. William Maine&#x27;s Account of the Effects of the Lightning on his Rod, dated at Indian Land, in South Carolina, Aug. 28, 1760

44On the Electricity of the Tourmalin

45New Observation relating to Electricity in the Atmosphere

46Flash of Lightning that struck St. Bride&#x27;s Steeple

47Best Method of securing a Powder Magazine from Lightning

48Of Lightning, and the Methods (now used in America) of securing Buildings and Persons from its mischievous Effects

49St. Bride&#x27;s Steeple. — Utility of Electrical Conductors to Steeples. — Singular kind of Glass tube

50Experiments, Observations, and Facts, tending to support the Opinion of the Utility of long pointed Rods, for securing Buildings from Damage by Strokes of Lightning