The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Few men could compare to Benjamin Franklin. Virtually self-taught, he excelled as an athlete, a man of letters, a printer, a scientist, a wit, an inventor, an editor, and a writer, and he was probably the most successful diplomat in American history. David Hume hailed him as the first great philosopher and great man of letters in the New World. Written initially to guide his son, Franklin's autobiography is a lively, spellbinding account of his unique and eventful life. Stylistically his best work, it has become a classic in world literature, one to inspire and delight readers everywhere.
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23recommend
37mentions
36people
2007–2025years
62% recommend38% neutral
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What Hacker News says
- This year, I decided to read more fiction, and I like it.[1] Here are some of the interesting non-fiction books I liked;
- Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller
- How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson
- The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa by Michael Kimmelman
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- The TATAS: How a Family Built a Business and a Nation by Girish Kuber
- I highly recommend The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. His writing style completely transported me to the time and place of early America. He led a truly interesting and inspiring life which I think HN readers would find fascinating. I think he embodied the entrepreneurial spirit.
- Welcome.
If you liked that, you must read the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, if not already read.
He was a polymath: a businessman, a scientist, a diplomat, and much more.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Benjami...
>The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin appears to have called the work his Memoirs. Although it had a tortuous publication history after Franklin's death, this work has become one of the most famous and influential examples of an autobiography ever written.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
>Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705][Note 1] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher.[1] Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first postmaster general.[2]
- I have to say that training & certification were far more helpful than books for me, especially regarding the dynamics of being in the company of others, relating, and so on.
My professional mentors helped me learn really useful things that aren't found in books at all, and I can't even recommend any good books on those topics, because they haven't been written.
As a general example, a huge component of "being enjoyed in company" comes down to the specific relationship dynamic in each situation. So it's a very common mistake to make it personal / about you and how enjoyable your company is. This can then cause the unwanted outcome where you end up inadvertently making the whole situation about yourself.
As long as you have the basics of relating covered, it's typically much more about the mix of people in the situation, one of whom is you. And in many cases it's better to treat a "how's my company, good/bad" situation as a roll of the dice, and simply move on to another set of people if your company isn't enjoyed to your satisfaction. (It's typically weird to read this and still kinda weird to write it, but it's really a thing)
There are literally relationship combinations out there that are associated with near-instant laughter and enjoyment among those involved, even among people who others think are the most dead-boring people on earth. These combinations and their dynamics have been mapped out in various ways by various groups (and this is right about where people usually ask me for books, and sorry).
Also, people of different personality dynamics tend to experience different categories of things that they _can_ consciously realize they were lacking, and then _can_ consciously change. So this leaves open the possibility that you can read very helpful books and never connect their advice with the most obviously-needed changes in your life, because you can't consciously admit that you need those changes, until & unless you discover the nature of this blind-spot dynamic within yourself.
I found that there were a lot of classic works or other public domain works which turned out to cover both the conscious / unconcious-stuff-I'll-appreciate-later aspects. One of these was _The Count of Monte Cristo_. Others include _Scaramouche_ and _Tom Sawyer._ In non-fiction, _Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin_, _James Nasmyth, Engineer, an Autobiography_, and _Around the World on a Bicycle_ were of immediate interest and later I was also able to see a different, more helpful side to them.
Batchelor's _Buddhism Without Beliefs_ and some fairly existential stories by authors like Osamu Dazai really helped me explore the conscious-existential side of life without so much of a self-help / philosophical-didactic conversion aspect. They effectively enabled some immediate and really huge relationship benefits, with regard to relating to others, that I didn't understand until later. (I translated some Dazai, and IMO if you can talk or write like Osamu Dazai, most of your up-front relating work is already taken care of, maybe)
I really appreciate this kind of non-didactic stuff that has such a simultaneously tangible effect, but sometimes it's also kind of one-trick-pony content, in that way. So later I return to enjoy it for nostalgia, a different type of self-support.
There are some way-more-didactic self-help titles that I found helpful early on, but I find them kind of embarrassing to talk about these days at the same time. For example Dale Carnagey / Carnegie's _How to Win Friends and Influence People_, L'Amour's _Education of a Wandering Man_ and _Life's Little Instruction Book_, but those books may be helpful to just about anyone at a basic level.
Just some ideas / thoughts, good luck to you in your search.
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I find it inspirational.
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936
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