Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School,   ISBN:9781583940792

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Good, concise writing from a Founding Father. A good insight, not generally taught in history books, of the wit and wisdom of Dr Franklin.

Customer Rating: 

My husband has a wacky sense of humor and asked me to order this book. Wackier yet is that I've read it and he has not.

I enjoyed most of the essays inside. One essay in particular sticks to the forefront of my mind and that was on choosing a mistress. Not exactly something you'd expect the revered Almanac writing Ben Franklin to write about! Still, it was tongue in cheek.

Much of what is inside pertains to personal finance. Old Ben was not a fan of borrowing money, that is for sure. But still, his practical advice is timeless.

I agree with what another writer wrote about the final chapter. The author does take some literary license with how he thought Ben would feel about the state of the country these days. It was a little over the top and perhaps a bit out of place. While I did appreciate his framing of essays with a little bit of background info (particularly as it related to what Ben wrote about another almanac writer), the last chapter was out of place. In reading the book, the reader likely came to the realization that Ben would not be amused with how our country turned out. We didn't need that last chapter to drive the point home. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading the lesser known works of Ben Franklin, though I freely admit I had trouble following him at times. Our colonial forefathers did have a different way of phrasing things and annoying habit of capitalizing words that are not capitalized as a matter of course in modern works.

Customer Rating: 

This book is just what the title says. Not ALL of the writings are as rare as you think but I would say most of it is unknown on a High School level. By college a lot of this should be known by anybody who knows American History or is a fan of Benjamin Franklin. There is humor but also a message in each piece, showing Mr. Franklin's views on the subject of the press, government and how to live life. Now, why did I take away a star? Because the last chapter is not by Mr. Franklin. The last chapter is Carl Japikse using the ghost of Mr. Franklin as a mouth piece. While I agree with much of what he raves against, mostly about his view on the modern mass media, this space could have been used to hold something by Mr. Franklin. That is who the book is about, after all.

Customer Rating: 

The book starts out great but ends in boringville... It's good to see the humorous side of Ben, but the author should have articulated a little better. The majority of the book is full of letters writtien in the hard to understand english of the day. The author could have translated and added more iput and guidance as to what they meant...

Smirking and yet Confused...

Customer Rating: 

I have to say that I rather enjoyed reading Franklin's lesser known works/letters. At one point I was even chuckling out loud.

However the book was ruined at the end by the editor's own political agenda. He assumes to many things and discredits his own opinion about the freedom of speech (if it is true that no one is allowed to speak their mind or are afraid - how is it that you got published).

My recommendation is to rip out that section of the book and enjoy what a gifted writer and thinker has to say - Ben Franklin