Books › Benjamin Franklin › Books like it
If you loved
Books like Benjamin Franklin
An engaging, sweeping portrait of a relentlessly curious mind that helped invent both a nation and the modern concept of the self-made man. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Benjamin Franklin.
- intellectually stimulating
- optimistic
- industrious
- expansive
- 01
Alexander Hamilton
Ron Chernow · 2004
A sweeping, tragic portrait of a restless genius who willed a nation into existence but could not outrun his own fatal flaws.
- 02
Founding Brothers
Joseph J. Ellis
A captivating look at the fragile, ego-driven, and deeply human relationships that forged a nation from the brink of collapse.
- 03
John Adams
David McCullough
An immersive, deeply human portrait of a prickly but passionate founding father and the extraordinary marriage that anchored him.
- 04
Invention of air
Steven Johnson · 2009
A thrilling intellectual treasure hunt that connects the discovery of oxygen to the founding of a nation.
- 05
Einstein
Walter Isaacson
An expansive, illuminating journey into the rebellious mind of a man who unlocked the universe while struggling with the gravity of his own human life.
- 06
Washington
Ron Chernow
A sweeping, deeply humanizing portrait that chips away the marble to reveal the passionate, calculating, and burdened man beneath the myth.
- 07
Leonardo da Vinci
Walter Isaacson
An immersive journey into the notebooks and mind of history's most relentlessly curious polymath.
- 08
Invent and Wander
Jeff Bezos
A masterclass in relentless optimization and long-term strategy, delivered straight from the architect's desk.
- 09
Isaac Newton
James Gleick · 2003
An elegant, atmospheric plunge into the obsessive and brilliant mind that dragged humanity out of the dark ages and into the light of modern physics.
- 10
The Everything Store
Brad Stone
A gripping, fly-on-the-wall plunge into the relentless engine room of modern retail's most formidable empire.
- 11
Ben and Me
Robert Lawson
A cheeky, charming reimagining of history where a tiny, unsung hero takes all the credit for a founding father's brilliance.
- 12
Elon Musk
Ashlee Vance
A high-octane, unvarnished look at the relentless drive and staggering personal costs behind modern technological miracles.
