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Only tangentially related, but David Hume and Benjamin Franklin were close friends. Franklin has always stuck me as a very modern thinker for his time, too. I'd
by rpeden 9y ago
Only tangentially related, but David Hume and Benjamin Franklin were close friends. Franklin has always stuck me as a very modern thinker for his time, too. I'd long admired both Hume and Franklin, but didn't realize they were close friends until I dug in and read a Franklin biography a few years back.
Franklin actually stayed with Hume in Edinburgh for a while. I'm sure the Philadeplhia to London to Edinburgh trek was a tad more involved in the 1700s than it is today. :)
- markdog12 9y agoIt wasn't "An American Life" was it? https://www.amazon.ca/Benjamin-Franklin-American-Walter-Isaacson/dp/074325807X https://www.amazon.ca/Benjamin-Franklin-American-Walter-Isaa... Great book and what an amazing human being! I remember it covered some of his time in England, but don't recall him staying with Hume. I read it quite a while ago though...
- rpeden 9y agoI started with that one - I liked Isaacson's writing when I read his Steve Jobs biography, so I decided to read his Franklin bio as well. I very much enjoyed it. Afterward, I read this one: https://www.amazon.com/First-American-Times-Benjamin-Franklin/dp/0385495404 https://www.amazon.com/First-American-Times-Benjamin-Frankli... I think this one is probably where I read about his time with Hume. I don't find H.W. Brands' writing to be quite as smooth to read as Isaacson's, but I remember him covering parts of Franklin's life in greater detail. His bio of Ulysses Grant was a great read, too: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Saved-Union-Ulysses/dp/0307475158 https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Saved-Union-Ulysses/dp/030747...
- markdog12 9y agoHave you ever read Ron Chernow bios? I've read Titan (Rockefeller): https://www.amazon.ca/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr/dp/1400077303/ https://www.amazon.ca/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr/dp/1400... and Alexander Hamilton: https://www.amazon.ca/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143034758/ https://www.amazon.ca/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143... Both incredible. I admit I've never been terribly interested in Grant, maybe I should give him a look. Tough when there's an infinite abundance of great literature. We're truly spoiled.
- rpeden 9y agoI haven't, but I'll definitely check those out. Thanks for the suggestions!