WALTER ISAACSON NEW BIOGRAPHY
The Untold Story Behind How Benjamin Franklin Shaped Revolution, Forged Freedom, and Defined An American LifeBy GRANTSON EUGENE
Length5h 8m
About this audiobook
He never attended college. He ran away at seventeen with nothing but a hunger to matter. Yet Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod, secured America's independence, helped draft the Declaration, and charmed two continents, all while writing some of history's most enduring prose.
But beneath the wit and wisdom lived a man of startling contradictions. He preached thrift while living lavishly in Paris. He championed liberty while owning enslaved people for decades. His devoted wife died alone in Philadelphia while he formed deep bonds with French noblewomen abroad.
This book does not soften that Franklin.
Drawing on his correspondence, Poor Richard's Almanack, congressional records, and diplomatic cables from Versailles, this biography reconstructs the first great American story — and holds up a mirror to the nation he built.
Fifteen chapters. Eighty-four years. One man who made America possible, then spent his life trying to make it worthy of its promise.
Grab your copy today.
Audiobook details
GenreBiography and Memoir, History
Length5 hrs 8 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateAug 6, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Untold Story Behind How Benjamin Franklin Shaped Revolution, Forged Freedom, and Defined An Amer
2PROLOGUE
3The Man on the Coin
4Philadelphia, April 1790
5PART ONE: THE MAKING OF A MAN
Mostrar todos os capítulosVer menos
6Boston Born, Boston Bound
71.1 Josiah Franklin's Household: Candles, Soap, and Seventeen Children
81.2 The Grammar School Door That Closed Too Soon
91.3 Under His Brother's Thumb: The Apprentice and the Press
10CHAPTER 2
112.1 Midnight Flight to Philadelphia — A City That Would Claim Him
122.2 London Interlude: The Young Printer Finds His Footing
132.3 Deborah Read and the Complicated Architecture of Marriage
14CHAPTER 3
153.1 The Pennsylvania Gazette and the Birth of American Journalism
163.2 Poor Richard's Almanack: Wisdom as Product, Wit as Brand
173.3 The Junto Club: Building a Brotherhood of Self-Improvement
18The Print as Both Business and Civic Tool
19The Lessons of the Printer's Trade
20The Complex Personality Behind the Print Shop
21CHAPTER 4
224.1 Kite, Key, and Storm: The Experiment That Electrified the World
234.2 Letters to London: Science as Diplomacy Before There Was Diplomacy
244.3 The Lightning Rod and the Democratization of Safety
25The Philosophical Implications
26The Controversy Over Priority
27The Scientist's Legacy
28The Human Element
29The Broader Context
30The Enduring Significance
31CHAPTER 5
325.1 Paving Streets, Building Libraries, Founding Hospitals — The Civic Visionary
335.2 The Academy That Became a University: Penn's Unlikely Origin
345.3 Militia, Fire Companies, and the Politics of Community
35The Theory of Civic Republicanism
36The Tensions Between Civic Generosity and Personal Ambition
37The Legacy of Civic Franklin
38The Human Element
39The Enduring Significance
40CHAPTER 6
416.1 William Franklin: The Favorite Son Who Would Become a Loyalist
426.2 Sally Franklin and the Daughter History Overlooked
436.3 Deborah's Philadelphia While Benjamin Conquered the World
44The Family's Legacy
45The Absent Father
46CHAPTER 7
477.2 Craven Street: A Second Home and a Second Life
487.3 Friendships, Flirtations, and the Women Who Shaped His Thinking
49The Growing Tensions
50The Duality of the Man
More from GRANTSON EUGENE
Owned by the Ruthless Pack Alpha: A Captive Fated MateCarlos L. Hud5h 41m$2.99 · $0.00
Mated to My Enemy Alpha A Forbidden Fated BondCarlos L. Hud7h 33m$2.99 · $0.00
Hunted by My Rejected Fated AlphaCarlos L. Hud5h 41m$2.99 · $0.00
His to Claim, Never to KeepCarlos L. Hud6h 11m$2.99 · $0.00
CLAIMED UNDER THE BLOOD MOON: A CURSED FATED MATECarlos L. Hud3h 17m$2.99 · $0.00
Claimed by the Ruthless Enemy AlphaCarlos L. Hud9h 7m$2.99 · $0.00
Bound to the Savage Alpha KingCarlos L. Hud5h 35m$2.99 · $0.00
THE COWBOY'S FAKE FIANCÉEKardos Belaa1h 56m$2.99 · $0.00
THE RANCHER'S FORBIDDEN LOVEKardos Belaa1h 57m$2.99 · $0.00
THE COWBOY'S RUNAWAY BRIDEKardos Belaa1h 56m$2.99 · $0.00
THE SINGLE DAD COWBOY'S SECRET BABYKardos Belaa2h 36m$2.99 · $0.00
THE GRUMPY COWBOY'S SECOND CHANCEKARDOS BELAA3h 47m$2.99 · $0.00
Rejected Mate: Alpha of the Cursed Blood MoonCarlos L. Hud8h 34mFree
S'more of YouCarlos L. Hud1h 15m$2.99
Public Speaking for IntrovertsBryan B. Eason2h 5m$2.99
CommunionBryan B. Eason3h 54m$2.99
The Untold Story Behind Promise Me, AmericaBryan B. Eason4h 24mFree
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (385)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Lives of BrianBrian Johnson9h 45m4.6 (3.5K)$29 · $0.00
I Am The StormJanice Dean9h4.6 (1.5K)$8 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
Just as I AmCicely Tyson16h 8m4.6 (99K)$33 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
My Bondage and My Freedom (Annotated)Frederick Douglass15h 30m4.6 (2.4K)$2 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
CrossroadsKaleb Dahlgren7h 56m4.6 (4.9K)$26 · $0.00
A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
Fall and RiseMitchell Zuckoff17h 23m4.6 (9.8K)$40 · $0.00
The SurvivorJosef Lewkowicz, Michael Calvin9h 22m4.6 (2.5K)$29 · $0.00
Always FaithfulThomas Schueman, Zainullah Zaki12h 12m4.6 (977)$29 · $0.00
The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789 (Annotated)Alexis de Tocqueville17h 25m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
All the Gallant MenDonald Stratton, Ken Gire5h 55m4.6 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Saint Joan (Annotated)George Bernard Shaw6h 20m4.6 (1.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
Medgar and MyrlieJoy-Ann Reid10h 52m4.5 (27.8K)$29 · $0.00
The History of the Peloponnesian War (Annotated)Thucydides24h 3m4.6 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Where the Birds Never SingJack Sacco10h 31m4.6 (3.8K)$29 · $0.00
Serviceman J: The Untold Story of an NZSAS SoldierJamie Pennell5h 51m4.6 (452)$24 · $0.00
You may also like
The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin7h 4m4.0 (111.9K)$2.30
The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin (Annotated)Benjamin Franklin48h 16m4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
Benjamin FranklinKathleen Krull1h 59m4.1 (1.5K)$15
The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin7h 12m4.0 (127.5K)$1.20 · $0.00
Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin8h 35m4.0 (95.4K)$1 · $0.00
On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of PowerSharad Pawar11h 29m4.1 (744)$12
The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin7h 13m4.0 (238.3K)$1.20 · $0.00
Oil!Upton Sinclair19h 48m3.7 (9.7K)$32 · $0.00
Eighty Years and MoreElizabeth Cady Stanton16h 4m4.3 (295)$1.99 · $0.00
YellenJon Hilsenrath11h 55m4.2 (711)$29 · $0.00
Charlton HestonMarc Eliot19h 34m4.3 (311)$40 · $0.00
The JazzmenLarry Tye16h 44m4.3 (334)$8 · $0.00
The Life of Benjamin FranklinM. L. Weems9h 10m$1 · $0.00
AparajitaArundhati Bhattacharya15h 3m$18 · $0.00
Richard Lovell Edgeworth: A Selection From His MemoirsMaria Edgeworth, Richard Lovell Edgeworth3h 55m$2 · $0.00
The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (Annotated)John Morley81h 14m$3 · $0.00
The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (Vol. 1-3) (Annotated)John Morley81h 13m4.4 (46)$1.99 · $0.00
Lord Randolph ChurchillWinston Churchill21h 30m3.6 (75)$1 · $0.00
Stirring the Pot with Benjamin FranklinRae Katherine Eighmey10h 19m3.9 (87)$20
Trailblazers of Learning: 3 Classic Books on Educational PioneersElizabeth Raikes, Charles E. Putney Memorial Association, J. Harold Putman24h 58m$1.99 · $0.00