Re: Ben Franklin

GM wrote: >>I'll accept "poor theologian" as a compromise.

Theology aside, David McCullough's bio of John Adams, with its depiction
of
Franklin in Paris during the war, decreased my respect for him somewhat.
Adams saw him as more interested in being idolized by French
intellectuals than in being involved in the nitty gritty of diplomacy.>>

Interesting. I had the same reaction when I read McCullough's bio last
year. Isaacson seems to see a different picture -- his John Adams comes
across rather poorly.

McCullough's book is very much a better read -- Isaacson's book is
written in a much more dry manner -- both are worth reading though. Adams
and Franklin did have some differences of opinion and style and did not
always say nice things about one another! <G>

That would never happen here, of course!

JB
Received on Fri Mar 18 16:32:49 2005