My Life With Benjamin Franklin

Related Readings

"...Yale University Press, 288 pp., $25 The noted Franklin scholar gets personal: In 18 essays, Lopez relates little-known..."

Dec. 1, 2000 Books Feature by Clay Smith

The Full Franklin

It's been 60 years since a biograpy of Benjamin Franklin has been written; Austin author H.W. Brands' The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin makes up for lost time.

"...Who is Benjamin Franklin? The question is bizarre but necessary. Unlike George..."

Dec. 1, 2000 Books Feature by Clay Smith

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Nicolas Cage is again on the prowl in this sequel to the 2004 smash success.

"...like a duplicate schematic of the first. Treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage) lights on a noble cause; enlists..."

Dec. 28, 2007 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

National Treasure

Odd casting and unimaginative, workmanlike direction make the painfully overlong National Treasure an exercise in mediocrity.

"...Plummer, of the Gates family history, to which young Benjamin Franklin Gates belongs. The Gates’ progeny have been searching..."

Nov. 19, 2004 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Revolutionary Score

The Founding Fathers' first declaration: 'We're an American band!'

"...Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry on fiddle; Benjamin Franklin on guitar, harp, viol da gamba, and, natch,..."

June 29, 2012 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Wit and Wisdom From Poor Richard's Almanack

Related Readings

"...by Benjamin Franklin..."

Dec. 1, 2000 Books Feature by Clay Smith

The Spirit – and Spirits – of '76

Mr. Smarty Pants knows America's alcohol history

"...then they had dozens of words to describe drunkenness. Benjamin Franklin collected more than 200 such terms, including addled,..."

July 5, 2013 Food Feature by R.U. Steinberg

Postmarks

Politics & music & the politics of music.

"...reviewed The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands, and supplemented it with recommendations..."

Dec. 8, 2000 Column

Nick Offerman at BookPeople

The actor and author of Gumption described meeting some of his personal heroes before a loving crowd

"...from Gumption, including a slightly risqué portion of the Benjamin Franklin chapter with a reference to dildos. "Don't worry..."

June 12, 2015 Arts Feature by Melanie Haupt

An American Haunting

A satanic-possession thriller set in 1817 stars Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek – to little avail.

"...Marsh. It's great fun to see the onetime Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce running about in a period costume..."

May 12, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Hightower Report

Bush wants to militarize space; the FBI guards against the danger of … almanacs?

"...only imagine what the FBI would have done to Benjamin Franklin, the publisher of Poor Richard's, America's first almanac...."

Feb. 13, 2004 News Column by Jim Hightower

The World as He Knows It

H.W. Brands? The Age of Gold is just the latest in a long line of well-crafted history.

"...then The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize;..."

Sept. 13, 2002 Books Feature by Tim Walker

Present and Future

H.W. Brands' scholarly specialty is U.S. foreign relations. So Tim Walker asked him to address some of the disintegrating ones.

"...subjects like the Gold Rush and the life of Benjamin Franklin, his scholarly specialty remains U.S. foreign relations. When..."

Sept. 13, 2002 Books Feature by Tim Walker

Postscripts

Comedy that stands the test of time, and royal dictates that don't.

"...Nora Ephron (Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women), and Benjamin Franklin (Wit and Wisdom From Poor Richard's Almanack). "Unlike..."

Dec. 15, 2000 Books Column by Clay Smith

Texas Book Festival 2017: The Full List

Dan Rather, Jeffrey Eugenides, the Bush sisters, and 291 more

"...Walter Isaacson, who has previously illuminated the genius in Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, turns his talents to another..."

Sept. 12, 2017 Arts Post by Robert Faires

Social Studies 'Experts' Don't Know Much About History

State Board of Education strikes again!

"...teachers "[i]dentify significant individuals such as Cesar Chavez and Benjamin Franklin who modeled active participation in the democratic process."..."

July 24, 2009 News Feature by Lee Nichols

The Secret History

That a man from San Antonio named Richard Santos has as much to add to the world of Jewish intellectual pursuits as an attorney named Rosen is as fascinating as it should be obvious, David Garza writes after he attended the Texas Jewish Historical Society's 22nd annual gathering. For the first time, perhaps, an entirely constructive revision may be taking place in the history of those we call the "people of the Book."

"...the Mason-Dixon Line. The very first of these men, Benjamin Franklin Jonas, is so poorly known in American history..."

May 11, 2001 Books Feature by David Garza

My Party Country, 'Tis of Thee

Colin Quinn exposes the rowdy Founding Fathers we never knew in 'Unconstitutional'

"...convention instead of working, and the endless amusement of Benjamin Franklin's kinky sex habits...."

April 25, 2014 Arts Feature by Amy Martin

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Supernanny, Ben Franklin on daylight saving time, and more

"...the editor in the Journal of Paris suggests, Ben Franklin was joking when he invented daylight saving time...."

Oct. 30, 2009 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

FronteraFest 2007: The lowdown

"..."Ben Franklin: A Rock Opera," by Spencer Driggers, Michael Federico, and..."

Jan. 12, 2007 Arts Feature

A Blue-Sky 'Silver' Plan for Austin Energy

Austin Energy and a former city employee team up to publish an idealized, clean-energy vision of the future.

"...title, and much of its inspiration, from cover boy Benjamin Franklin ("Genius without education is like ...") -- an..."

Dec. 5, 2003 News Feature by Mike Clark-Madison

The Hightower Lowdown

The Bushes suddenly discover women's rights in Afghanistan, tear up the Bill of Rights, and let pesticide companies test their poisons on human beings.

"...they dragged the constitutional genius of Madison, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and other founders into the back rooms and hacked..."

Dec. 7, 2001 News Column by Jim Hightower

The Hightower Lowdown

Hypocritical corporate "patriotism"; Congress declares war on civil liberties; Congressmen spend for our country.

"...like Sam Adams, George Washington, Thomas Paine, old Ben Franklin, Jimmy Madison, and Tom Jefferson would gag and upchuck..."

Nov. 16, 2001 News Column by Jim Hightower

We Asked Writers To Review Bands They’d Never Seen Before at Free Week in Austin

First looks at Dregs, Chief Cleopatra, Exotic Fruits, Nuclear Daisies

"...donning cool shades and a $100 dress (complete with Benjamin Franklin’s face), launched the set at 11:30pm sharp, no..."

Jan. 9, 2023 Music Post by Nayeli Portillo

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

"...Benjamin Franklin first coined the term "battery" in 1749. However,..."

Feb. 18, 2022 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

Free Will Astrology

Your weekly horoscope, March 5-11

"..."owned" them in the first place. Another Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin not only freed his slaves but became an..."

March 5, 2021 Column by Rob Brezsny

Day Trips: History of the Frozen Margarita

We’re all going to need a frozen margarita when this is all over

"...National Museum of American History alongside lesser inventions by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and George Washington Carver...."

April 3, 2020 Column by Gerald E. McLeod

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

"...In recent years, Benjamin Franklin has been misquoted regarding beer. There is no..."

Aug. 9, 2019 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

Austin Kite Fest Celebrates 90 Years

From 1929 to present, the festival is a constant in a changing city

"...building a plane, serving as a crucial piece in Benjamin Franklin’s experiment with a key that established the relationship..."

March 27, 2019 Events Post by Alyssa Hiarker

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

"...Benjamin Franklin, the first postmaster general, and George Washington appeared..."

Oct. 12, 2018 Column by Mr. Smarty Pants

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