The Autobiography and Other Writings: Introduction by Jill Lepore (Everyman's Library Classics Series)

A great book that came to me here in South Korea, as described by the seller, in very good condition.

Not a 'hard' cover, but more like a thick, silicone type flexible cover, so not a 'soft' cover either. Overall great quality for the price.

For those interested in getting a quality education, Franklin's biography is a must read.I wanted to teach myself how to write well. Lots of great authors to learn from. I choose Franklin as he even gives a method for using a book to learn the art of writing.

I'm not one to write a ton of product reviews, but I'm writing this one less than an hour after receiving my package.This book is immaculate. The weight of the book is perfect, the cover is INDENTED into some sort of heavy cloth (I'm not a binding expert). The inner cover pages feature a two-page illustration of Benjamin Franklin flying his kite. The print and illustrations are clean, the pages are enjoyable to handle.Get this version. You won't be disappointed.

Good book, but hard cover actually not beautiful, it’s comes with paper cover over hard one

Since most readers are already well acquainted with the content of this volume, The Autobiography as well as a small selection of Franklin's other writings, I want to focus this review on the construction of this book. First, let me say that I collect books published by Everyman's Library and have always been a huge fan of their look, feel, and durable binding. This particular book was printed and bound in Germany by GGP Media. As with other volumes of the EL series, this book is bound in a cloth cover. It's important to distinguish between a mere "hardcover," which is usually just a cover made of paper-covered cardboard, and a cloth cover book. A cloth cover is just that - a hardbound book with cloth, actual fabric, over the covers. This kind of cover is old school, reminiscent of the great bookbinders of yesteryear. The book block itself is sewn, not glued, Again, this is an old school way of binding a book to last. And that's the point! Everyman's Library is a collection meant to pass on to your children and grandchildren. Over the cloth covers, the EL comes with a tasteful dust jacket. I must also mention that this volume comes with an olive green ribbon marker.The paper used in this volume is exceptionally nice. It is thick, opaque, creamy. The type is set in Bembo which was originally cut by the punch-cutter Francesco Griffo for the Venetian printer-publisher Aldus Manutius in early 1495. It is very readable and easy on the eyes.This volume retails for $26.95, which is an exceptional value for the level of quality. Amazon's price is even better!

Benjamin Franklin's autobiography is indispensable reading for its lively, endearing account of the rise of an obscure and penniless but gifted young man to prominence. It is the essential, oft-repeated American mythos which has often been used to justify the creation of the republic, from its earliest beginnings until now. Whether that mythos is still viable is open to debate but between the covers of this beautifully crafted Everyman's Library edition one can discover the source of the quintessential rags-to-riches American success story.Like all of the Everyman's editions, this book features a sturdy cloth cover (blue) protected by an attractively illustrated dust cover. The pages are especially thick and the book's Bembo typeface is bold and easy to read against the creamy-white background. Some attributes of the Everyman's books that I find especially noteworthy are an extensive multi-topic historical chronology that provides context for the book, a useful bibliography for further reading, informative notes that are helpful to the reader and annotations that expand the book's scale. For the reasonable prices asked for Everyman's Library editions, they remain a true bargain for those who love books.Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the thinking of the founding fathers, their rationale for rebellion and their creativity in crafting the world's first representative democracy in an age of autocratic monarchies. The achievement was breathtaking in its audacity and whether it succeeds or fails is up to us, their descendants. This book is a window into that long-ago era and is an important and entertaining tale.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is an essential reading to understand American history, its character, and its literature. Everyman Library is a collection of hardcover editions of essential literary readings that are extremely well, and beautifully edited. Not only the text is fixed as definite. This edition also includes a thorough and illuminating introduction by Jill Lepore, a Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. The introduction includes the pertinent notes, and it also includes a select bibliography, and a carefully put together chronology of Franklin's life, the literary context, and the historical events. The Autobiography is divided in four parts, and it is 187 pages. I had read this book before, twice if my memory serves me well, and I read it again a third time in just three days. This is how good this book still is. This volume is complemented with other writings by Franklin, among them the interesting "Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion," "The Way to Wealth," or "The Kite Experiment". All of these additional writings bring us closer to the man who we all remember as witty and wealthy, but yet a self-made man who brought so much to the birth of our Nation.A definitive volume that I can't recommend enough, a reading that resonates so much still today, in our state of affairs such in great need of authentic leadership.