Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life

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Part biography, part travelogue, part self-help, New York Times bestselling author Eric Weiner follows in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, mining his life for inspiration and practical lessons for living a purposeful and virtuous life.

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 Franklins greatest experiment wasBen Franklin. In that spirit of betterment, Eric Weiner embarks on an ambitious quest to live the way Ben lived.

A warm combination of homage and introspective memoir (Kirkus Reviews), Ben & Me is a guide to living and thinking well, as Ben Franklin did. It is also about curiosity, respect for virtue, 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 Bens life lessons, large and small. We learn how to improve a relationship with someone by inducing them to do a favor for youa 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 wed all be better off if we acted and thought a bit more like Ben did, even if he didnt always live up to his own high ideals. Engaging, smart, moving, and quirky, Ben & Me distills the essence of Franklins ideas into grounded, practical wisdom for all of us.

Author Bio

Eric Weiner is author of theNew York TimesbestsellersThe Geography of Bliss(now a docu-series featuring Rainn Wilson) andThe Geography of Genius, as well as the critically acclaimedMan Seeks GodandThe Socrates Express. A former international correspondent for NPR, his work has appeared inThe Atlantic,National Geographic,The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the anthologyBest American Travel Writing. He lives with his family and a menagerie of animals in the Washington, DC, area. For more information, visit: EricWeinerBooks.com.