Ben & Me

In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life

By: Eric Weiner

Narrated by: Eric Weiner

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 Audio

Ben & me

Great book that was very engaging. The author helped you feel like part of his world and that of Ben.

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

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

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.

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.

Annoying voice

The story was boring as well two pegs down from Socrates express, and a downgrade from his previous titles.

Terrible squeaky voice

Dissapointed in the annoying voice. Ben was a master, and I am so disappointed this is was not well represented.