Ben & Me
In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life
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Ben & Me
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Narrated by:
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Eric Weiner
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By:
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Eric Weiner
About this listen
New York Times bestselling author Eric Weiner follows in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, mining his life for inspiring and practical lessons in a book that’s part biography, part travelogue, part personal prescription.
Ben Franklin lingers in our lives and in our imaginations. One of only two non-presidents to appear on US currency, Franklin was a founder, statesman, scientist, inventor, diplomat, publisher, humorist, and philosopher. He believed in the American experiment, but Ben Franklin’s greatest experiment was…Ben Franklin. In that spirit of betterment, Eric Weiner embarks on an ambitious quest to live the way Ben lived.
Not a conventional biography, Ben & Me is a guide to living and thinking well, as Ben Franklin did. It is also about curiosity, diligence, and, most of all, the elusive goal of self-improvement. As Weiner follows Franklin from Philadelphia to Paris, Boston to London, he attempts to uncover Ben’s life lessons, large and small. We learn how to improve a relationship with someone by inducing them to do a favor for you—a psychological phenomenon now known as The Ben Franklin Effect. We learn about the printing press (the Internet of its day), early medicine, diplomatic intrigue and, of course, electricity. And we learn about ethics, persuasion, humor, regret, appetite, and so much more.
At a time when history is either neglected or contested, Weiner argues we have much to learn from the past and that we’d all be better off if we acted and thought a bit more like Ben did, even if he didn’t always live up to his own high ideals. Engaging, smart, moving, quirky, Ben & Me distills the essence of Franklin’s ideas into grounded, practical wisdom for all of us.
©2024 Eric Weiner (P)2024 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about Ben & Me
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JM Branum
- 07-30-24
a compelling and Earnest look at a very interesting human being
I really really liked this book primarily for its emphasis on Ben Franklin the human being --- fascinating interesting and deeply deeply flawed. it all came out in this book.
there is a part of me that wishes it were possible to simply worshipfully adore someone like franklin, but that's not who he really was. the author did an excellent job of showing all of the sides of Franklin --- the beautiful the zany but also the ugly and wretched
this is a book with a lot of good life lessons I highly recommend it
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stew
- 08-08-24
Ben & me
Great book that was very engaging. The author helped you feel like part of his world and that of Ben.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carolina Ferro
- 08-20-24
Ben Franklin’s family dynamics
I liked the brief moments the author would step in & describe the fact finding trips he took to acquire Ben Franklin facts & his personal evolvement as an adult while on the trips … few comparisons to Franklin personally but interesting nonetheless
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Hman
- 06-22-24
It really brought this historical figure to life for me.
it was a great pleasure to learn about Ben Franklin and all of the great adventures and misadventures that made up his life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ali
- 07-11-24
Ben & Me & Me
As a Franklin enthusiast, I am always interested in anything related to Benjamin Franklin, and Ben & Me delivered on its promises.
Eric Weiner does an excellent job of maintaining a narrative flow while juxtaposing anecdotes from Franklin’s life with those of a 21st-century American. He skillfully crafts his language in Franklin’s witty and charming style, creating a parallel narrative that resonates with me and others like me.
While the book could be more concise, as many books could be, it provides a useful and enjoyable journey with Ben Franklin that flows swimmingly.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andres Felipe Giraldo Buritica
- 12-22-24
Great
Since I discovered Eric I have enjoyed his books. He is an amazing storyteller and has an incredible ability to wave the past with the present.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Stephen
- 07-15-24
Annoying voice
The story was boring as well two pegs down from Socrates express, and a downgrade from his previous titles.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- P. V. Beagle
- 07-11-24
Terrible squeaky voice
Dissapointed in the annoying voice. Ben was a master, and I am so disappointed this is was not well represented.
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