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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin'
From the most respected chronicler of the early days of the Republicand winner of both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizescomes a landmark work that rescues Benjamin Franklin from a mythology that has blinded generations of Americans to the man he really was and makes sense of aspects of his life and career that would have otherwise remained mysterious. In place of the genial polymath, self-improver, and quintessential American, Gordon S. Wood reveals a figure much more ambiguous and complexand much more interesting. Charting the passage of Franklins life and reputation from relative popular indifference (his death, while the occasion for mass mourning in France, was widely ignored in America) to posthumous glory, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin sheds invaluable light on the emergence of our countrys idea of itself.
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Autobiography and Selected Writings'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin'
Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is one of the most famous works in American literature. He started it as a private collection of anecdotes for his son, but soon it was transformed into a work of history. This is a charming, self-portrait of one of America's greatest forefathers. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: With Related Documents'
This new edition of "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" is built around J.A. Leo Lemay and P.R. Zall's text. Louis Masur's introduction sets the work in its historical context. Masur also discusses America after Franklin and why the autobiography has had such a tremendous impact on 19th- and 20th-century society and culture. The book prompts students to think critically about the text by raising fundamental issues, such as the inherent distortion that occurs in autobiography. The book also contains six portraits of Franklin. Louis Masur is the author of "Rites of Execution: Capital Punishment and the Transformation of American Culture, 1776-1865". [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Autobiography, and Other Writings'
Franklin's writings span a long and distinguished career of literary, scientific, and political inquiry--the work of a man whose life lasted for nearly all of the 18th century, and whose achievements ranged from inventing the lightning rod to publishing Poor Richard's Almanac to signing the Declaration of Independence. In his own lifetime, Franklin knew prominence not only in America but also in Britain and France. Here was a cosmopolitan statesman, public servant, inventor, and editor with a distinctly Yankee sensibility; here was a moral philosopher who divided his faith between the natural sciences and the American experiment. This volume includes Franklin's reflections on such diverse issues as reason and religion, social status, electricity, America's national character and characters, war, and the societal status of women. Also included is a new transcription of his 1726 journal, and several pieces that have only recently been identified as Franklin's work. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Basic Concepts in Sociology'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Ben Franklin America's Original Entrepreneur: Americas Original Enterpreneur Franklin's Autobiography Adapted for Modern Times'
Audio [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Benjamin Franklin'
Benjamin Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a best-selling author, the country's first postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant, a diplomat, a ladies' man, and a moralist - and the most prominent celebrity of the 18th century. Franklin was, however, a man of vast contradictions, as Edmund Morgan demonstrates in this biography. A reluctant revolutionary, Franklin had desperately wished to preserve the British Empire, and he mourned the break even as he led the fight for American independence. Despite his passion for science, Franklin viewed his groundbreaking experiments as secondary to his civic duties. And although he helped to draft both the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, he had personally hoped that the new American government would take a different shape. Seeking to unravel the enigma of Franklin's character, Morgan shows that he was the rare individual who consistently placed the public interest before his own desires. [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Benjamin Franklin:a Biography in His Own Words: A Biography in His Own Words'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Benjamin Franklin: An American Life'
Benjamin Franklin, writes journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, was that rare Founding Father who would sooner wink at a passer-by than sit still for a formal portrait. What's more, Isaacson relates in this fluent and entertaining biography, the revolutionary leader represents a political tradition that has been all but forgotten today, one that prizes pragmatism over moralism, religious tolerance over fundamentalist rigidity, and social mobility over class privilege. That broadly democratic sensibility allowed Franklin his contradictions, as Isaacson shows. Though a man of lofty principles, Franklin wasn't shy of using sex to sell the newspapers he edited and published; though far from frivolous, he liked his toys and his mortal pleasures; and though he sometimes gave off a simpleton image, he was a shrewd and even crafty politician. Isaacson doesn't shy from enumerating Franklins occasional peccadilloes and shortcomings, in keeping with the iconoclastic nature of our time--none of which, however, stops him from considering Benjamin Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age," and one of the most admirable of any era. And heres one bit of proof: as a young man, Ben Franklin regularly went without food in order to buy books. His example, as always, is a good one--and this is just the book to buy with the proceeds from the grocery budget. --Gregory McNamee [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography: An Authoritative Text Backgrounds Criticism'
Franklins Autobiography is the only enduring best-seller written in America before the nineteenth century, as well as the most popular autobiography ever written.
As such it deserves to be offered to twentieth-century readers in the most accurate form possible, and so it is, in this Norton Critical Edition, the first text to be edited directly from the manuscripts, rather than perpetuating the errors of previous editions.More editions of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography: An Authoritative Text Backgrounds Criticism:
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville'
Originally published as Embrace an Angry Wind
Following the fall of Atlanta, rebel commander John Bell Hood rallied his demoralized troops and marched them off the Tennessee, desperately hoping to draw Sherman after him and forestall the Confederacy's defeat. But Sherman refused to be lured and began his infamous "March to the Sea," while Hood charged headlong into catastrophe.
In this compelling dramatic account of a final and fatal invasion by the Confederate Army of Tennessee, Wile Sword illuminates the missed opportunities, senseless bloody assaults, poor command decisions, and stubborn pride that resulted in 23,500 Confederate losses--including 7,00 casualties in one battle-- and the pulverization of the South's second largest army.
Sword follows Hood and his army as they let an early advantage and possible victory slip away at Spring Hill, then engage in a reckless and ill-fated frontal attack on Franklin, often called the "Gettysburg of the West." Despite that disaster, Hood refuses to yield and presses on the Nashville and a two-day bloodbath that unhinges what is left of his battered troops--the worst defeat suffered by any army during the war.
Telling the story from both the Confederate and the Union perspectives, Sword pursues personalities as well as battles and troop strategy. He portrays Hood as a gutsy yet irresponsible leader--"a fool with a license to kill his own men"--whose valiant but rapidly dwindling troops were no match for the methodical General George G. Thomas and his better prepared--and entrenched--Union army. Hood, however, was not entirely to blame for Confederate failures, says Sword, who shows how decision making and actions--both good and bad, logical and chaotic--by key players on both sides helped determine the battles' outcomes.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Embrace an Angry Wind : The Confederacy's Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin'
Benjamin Franklin may have been the most remarkable American ever to live: a printer, scientist, inventor, politician, diplomat, and--finally--an icon. His life was so sweeping that this comprehensive biography by H.W. Brands at times reads like a history of the United States during the 18th century. Franklin was at the center of America's transition from British colony to new nation, and was a kind of Founding Grandfather to the Founding Fathers; he was a full generation older than George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, and they all viewed him with deep respect. "Of those patriots who made independence possible, none mattered more than Franklin, and only Washington mattered as much," writes Brands (author of a well-received Teddy Roosevelt biography, T.R.: The Last Romantic). Franklin was a complex character who sometimes came up a bit short in the personal virtue department, once commenting, "That hard-to-be-governed passion of youth had hurried me frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my way." When he married, another woman was already pregnant with his child--a son he took into his home and had his wife raise.
Franklin is best remembered for other things, of course. His still-famous Poor Richard's Almanac helped him secure enough financial freedom as a printer to retire and devote himself to the study of electricity (which began, amusingly, with experiments on chickens). His mind never rested: He invented bifocals, the armonica (a musical instrument made primarily of glass), and, in old age, a mechanical arm that allowed him to reach books stored on high shelves. He served American interests as a diplomat in Europe; without him, France might not have intervened in the American Revolution. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He possessed a sense of humor, too. In 1776, when John Hancock urged the colonies to "hang together," Franklin is said to have commented, "We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Franklin's accomplishments were so numerous and varied that they threaten to read like a laundry list. Yet Brands pours them into an engrossing narrative, and they leap to life on these pages as the grand story of an exceptional man. The First American is an altogether excellent biography. --John J. Miller [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin and Harriet'
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin likes being a big brother ... most of the time. But when his little sister, Harriet, wants to play with his favorite stuffed animal, Franklin doesn't want to share. As they tug at the toy, something terrible happens. It rips! Franklin's mother fixes it, but he remains angry and hides the toy in his closet. Then Franklin discovers it's not the toy that makes Harriet happy -- it's her big brother who brings a smile to her face. Franklin decides that maybe sharing isn't so bad after all. [via]

› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin and the Tooth Fairy'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin Fibs'
Bear can climb the highest tree, Hawk can fly over the berry patch without flapping his wings, and Beaver can chop down a tree with his teeth. "I can swallow 76 flies in the blink of an eye," Franklin fibs. . . . Then Franklin's friends ask him to prove it! [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin Goes to School'
With his new pencil case packed with a ruler, eraser and 12 colored pencils, Franklin is ready for his first day of school -- until it's time to board the bus. In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin faces the excitement and fear of starting school. [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin Goes to the Hospital'
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, our hero goes to the hospital for an operation to repair his broken shell, and everyone thinks he's being very brave. But Franklin is only pretending to be fearless. He's worried that his X-rays will show just how frightened he is inside. With the help of Dr. Bear, Franklin learns that even though he's feeling scared, he can still be brave. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin in the Dark'

› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin Is Messy'
Franklin's room is so messy he can't even find his favorite toys until his parents propose a solution. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin Wants a Pet'
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin can count forwards and backwards. He can zip zippers and button buttons. He can slide down a riverbank by himself. He can even sleep alone in his small, dark shell. And ever since he was small, he really wanted a pet. [via]
› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin's First Day of School'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin's Baby Sister'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin's Blanket'
Every young child will relate to this sweet tale in which Franklin loses his favorite blanket, the one he just can't sleep without. With a funny surprise ending, it's another charming story starring the turtle hero of Franklin in the Dark and Franklin Fibs. Full-color. [via]

› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin's Christmas Gift'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin's Thanksgiving'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Franklin's Valentines'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, And the Birth of America'
Benjamin Franklin began the "the most taxing assignment of his life" at the age of 70: to secure the aid of the French monarchy in helping the fledgling United States establish their republic. The job required tremendous skill, finesse, and discretion, and as Stacy Schiff makes clear in this brilliant book, Franklin was the ideal American, perhaps the only one, to take on the task, due in large part to his considerable personal prestige. One of the most famous men in the world when he landed in France in December 1776, his arrival caused a sensation--he was celebrated as a man of genius, a successor to Newton and Galileo, and treated as a great dignitary, even though the nation he represented was less than a year old and there were many doubts as to whether it would see its second birthday. Though he had no formal diplomatic training and spoke only rudimentary French, Franklin managed to engineer the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the peace treaty of 1783, effectively inventing American foreign policy as he went along, in addition to serving as chief diplomat, banker, and director of American naval affairs.
Franklin recognized and accepted the fact that French aid was crucial to American independence, but some Founding Fathers resented him for making America dependent on a foreign power and severely attacked him for securing the very aid that saved the cause. Schiff offers fascinating coverage of this American infighting, along with the complex political intrigue in France, complete with British spies and French double agents, secret negotiations and backroom deals. A Great Improvisation is an entertaining and illuminating portrait of Franklin's seven-year adventure in France that "stands not only as his greatest service to his country but the most revealing of the man." --Shawn Carkonen [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'
A new translation of Max Webers classic The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism--one of the most enduring and influential books in sociology--is now available from Roxbury.
Translator Stephen Kalberg is an internationally acclaimed Weberian scholar. In this Third Roxbury Edition, Kalberg offers a precise and nuanced rendering of The Protestant Ethic that captures Webers style as well as the unusual subtlety of his descriptions and causal arguments. Kalbergs standardization of Webers terminology facilitates understanding of the various twists and turns in his complex lines of reasoning. Webers original italicization, highlighting major themes, has been restored. A glossary of major terms and numerous clarifying endnotes have been added; foreign terms have been translated; bracketed insertions in the text identify obscure names. In short, the Protestant Ethic thesis is presented in a clear and highly readable manner.
There are three compelling reasons for students to read this classic:
It explores the continuing debate regarding the origins and legacy of modern capitalism in the West.
It helps the reader better understand economic development today around the world, especially in Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America.
It plumbs the deep cultural forces that affect contemporary work life and the workplace in the United States and Europe.
In his introduction, Kalberg offers a sketch of Webers life and his major concerns, examines the intellectual context at the time The Protestant Ethic was written, and summarizes major aspects of Webers complex analysis. Kalberg also discusses this classical study in the context of Webers other writings. Finally, Kalberg investigates the contribution of The Protestant Ethic for understanding the role played by cultural forces in modern economic development.
The new translation includes Webers 1906 essay "The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism." Written after his extensive travels in the United States in 1904, Weber comments here on the diverse ways in which the legacies of early American Protestantism remain influential. Also contained in this edition are Webers masterful prefatory remarks to his Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion, in which he defines the uniqueness of Western societies and asks what "ideas and interests" combined to call forth modern Western rationalism.
For students, The Protestant Ethic is a starting point toward understanding the multiple dimensions of social change. The continuing debates about the main elements of modern life, economic cultures and business ethics, our "common sense" economic determinism and "rational choices," the future of modern capitalism, the relationship between cultural forces and social structures, and the tension between science and religion are very much part of the Weberian project. Small wonder, then, that The Protestant Ethic continues to be one of the most frequently assigned readings in sociology.
Translator Stephen Kalberg is the author of Max Webers Comparative-Historical Sociology (1994), Max Webers Sociology of Civilizations, and numerous articles on Weber. He is the editor of Max Weber: The Confrontation with Modernity (2003l). He teaches at Boston University, where he is Associate Professor of Sociology. He is also co-chair of the German Study Group at Harvard University's Center for European Studies. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Protestant Ethic And the Spirit of Capitalism'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Widow of the South'
Reminiscent of Cold Mountain and Enemy Women, this is a gripping novel based on the incredible true story of a woman whose life was changed forever by the Civil War.In 1894 Carrie McGavock is an old woman, an old woman who has only her former slave to keep her company...along with the almost 1,500 soldiers buried in her backyard. Years ago, rather than let someone plow over the field where these young men had been buried, Carrie dug them up and buried them in her own personal cemetery. Now, as she walks the rows of the dead, an old soldier appears. It is the man she met that day of the battle that changed everything. The man who came to her house as a wounded soldier and left with her heart. He asks if the cemetery has room for one more.Flash back 30 years to the morning of the Battle of Franklin, a battle that was the bloodiest five hours of the Civil War, with 9,200 casualties that fateful day. Carrie+s home-Carnton Plantation-was taken over by the Confederate army and turned into a hospital; four generals died on her porch, and the pile of amputated limbs reached the second story window. And one soldier came to her house and reawakened in Carrie feelings she thought long dead. Zacharaiah Cashwell was a 32-year-old soldier who had lived a hardscrabble life. When Cashwell, wounded, was brought to her home, Carrie found herself inexplicably drawn to him despite boundaries of class and decorum. The story that ensues between Carrie and Cashwell is just as unforgettable as the battle from which it is drawn.n Carrie McGavock was famous throughout the country as the -Widow of the South+ and the -Keeper of the Dead.+ She spent over 40 years tending the graves of the soldiers and corresponding with their families. Up until now, her story has never been written.n Civil War history buffs will be drawn in by the true-life history that Hicks talks about in the special author+s note section that includes photographs of the real life characters. [via]
