25 Books like Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

by Hourly History • 2016

Ran away at 17 with empty pockets; by 70, he charmed France into bankrolling America.

4.18

632

📜 Founding Fathers 🏛️ Colonial America 💡 American Enlightenment 🧱 Self Made Lives 🏙️ Civic Innovation

Benjamin Franklin 97%

Ran away at 17 with empty pockets; by 70, he charmed France into bankrolling America.

by Hourly History 2016

4.18

632 ratings

📜 Founding Fathers 🏛️ Colonial America 💡 American Enlightenment 🧱 Self Made Lives 🏙️ Civic Innovation

John Adams

by David McCullough • 2001

Washington led the army, Jefferson wrote the words. Adams did the work that saved them both.

4.09

379k+

👔 Founding Fathers 🇺🇸 Presidential Biography ⚔️ Revolutionary War Era 📜 Diplomatic History 📖 Narrative History

John Adams 96%

Washington led the army, Jefferson wrote the words. Adams did the work that saved them both.

by David McCullough 2001

4.09

379k+ ratings

👔 Founding Fathers 🇺🇸 Presidential Biography ⚔️ Revolutionary War Era 📜 Diplomatic History 📖 Narrative History

Thomas Jefferson

by Jon Meacham • 2012

How the Declaration's author became the most quietly effective politician of the founding era.

4.05

43k+

🏛️ Founding Fathers 📜 Early American Republic 🦅 American Presidency 📖 Presidential Biography 🔔 Revolutionary America

Thomas Jefferson 95%

How the Declaration's author became the most quietly effective politician of the founding era.

by Jon Meacham 2012

4.05

43k+ ratings

🏛️ Founding Fathers 📜 Early American Republic 🦅 American Presidency 📖 Presidential Biography 🔔 Revolutionary America

Revolutionary Characters

by Gordon S. Wood • 2006

Not demigods but Enlightenment thinkers who had to turn philosophy into a working republic.

3.96

4k+

🏛️ Founding Fathers 👥 Collective Biography 💡 Enlightenment Thought 🎭 Myth-Making 📚 Intellectual History

Revolutionary Characters 95%

Not demigods but Enlightenment thinkers who had to turn philosophy into a working republic.

by Gordon S. Wood 2006

3.96

4k+ ratings

🏛️ Founding Fathers 👥 Collective Biography 💡 Enlightenment Thought 🎭 Myth-Making 📚 Intellectual History

How We Think

by John Dewey • 1997

One grid, thirteen virtues, a lifetime of revisions: the system that built a founding father.

3.86

1k+

🏛️ American Enlightenment 🇺🇸 Founding Fathers ⚖️ Virtue Ethics 🔄 Habit Formation 🦉 Practical Wisdom

How We Think 95%

One grid, thirteen virtues, a lifetime of revisions: the system that built a founding father.

by John Dewey 1997

3.86

1k+ ratings

🏛️ American Enlightenment 🇺🇸 Founding Fathers ⚖️ Virtue Ethics 🔄 Habit Formation 🦉 Practical Wisdom

Alexander Hamilton

by Ron Chernow • 2004

From Caribbean orphan to architect of American capitalism: the scandal and duel that ended him.

4.22

202k+

🏛️ American Revolution 🇺🇸 Founding Fathers 📜 Political Biography 💰 Financial Systems 🏗️ Self-Made Man

Alexander Hamilton 94%

From Caribbean orphan to architect of American capitalism: the scandal and duel that ended him.

by Ron Chernow 2004

4.22

202k+ ratings

🏛️ American Revolution 🇺🇸 Founding Fathers 📜 Political Biography 💰 Financial Systems 🏗️ Self-Made Man

Founding Brothers

by Joseph J. Ellis • 2000

The American founding hung on private dinners, personal feuds, a duel, and one last letter.

3.95

48k+

🏛️ Early American Republic 📜 Founding Fathers 🤝 Political Compromise ⚔️ Political Rivalries 🔗 Slavery And The Founding

Founding Brothers 94%

The American founding hung on private dinners, personal feuds, a duel, and one last letter.

by Joseph J. Ellis 2000

3.95

48k+ ratings

🏛️ Early American Republic 📜 Founding Fathers 🤝 Political Compromise ⚔️ Political Rivalries 🔗 Slavery And The Founding

George Washington

by James MacGregor Burns • 2004

How Washington invented the presidency from scratch, and why his precedents still rule the office.

3.97

1k+

🏛️ Presidential Biography 🔔 Founding Era 📜 Constitutional Origins ⚡ Executive Power 🎓 Leadership Studies

George Washington 94%

How Washington invented the presidency from scratch, and why his precedents still rule the office.

by James MacGregor Burns 2004

3.97

1k+ ratings

🏛️ Presidential Biography 🔔 Founding Era 📜 Constitutional Origins ⚡ Executive Power 🎓 Leadership Studies

First Principles

by Thomas E. Ricks • 2020

Locke and Montesquieu get the credit. America's founders were actually reading Cicero and Cato.

4.06

4k+

🏛️ Founding Fathers 📜 Early American Republic 📚 Intellectual History 🏺 Greco-Roman Thought 🫡 Civic Virtue

First Principles 93%

Locke and Montesquieu get the credit. America's founders were actually reading Cicero and Cato.

by Thomas E. Ricks 2020

4.06

4k+ ratings

🏛️ Founding Fathers 📜 Early American Republic 📚 Intellectual History 🏺 Greco-Roman Thought 🫡 Civic Virtue

The First Conspiracy

by Brad Meltzer • 2019

The secret plot to capture George Washington came from inside his own guard.

3.82

14k+

🗽 American Revolution 🇺🇸 Founding Fathers 🕵️ Espionage History 🎯 Assassination Plots 🔍 Counterintelligence

The First Conspiracy 92%

The secret plot to capture George Washington came from inside his own guard.

by Brad Meltzer 2019

3.82

14k+ ratings

🗽 American Revolution 🇺🇸 Founding Fathers 🕵️ Espionage History 🎯 Assassination Plots 🔍 Counterintelligence

Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman

by Joseph R. Fornieri • 2013

Lincoln's secret: he wrestled with eternal principles before he ever grasped for power.

4.67

🏛️ Statesmanship ⚔️ Civil War Era 🦉 Practical Wisdom ⚖️ Moral Leadership 🗣️ Rhetoric And Persuasion

Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman Summary

Abraham Lincoln, Philosopher Statesman 92%

Lincoln's secret: he wrestled with eternal principles before he ever grasped for power.

by Joseph R. Fornieri 2013

4.67

6 ratings

🏛️ Statesmanship ⚔️ Civil War Era 🦉 Practical Wisdom ⚖️ Moral Leadership 🗣️ Rhetoric And Persuasion

George Washington's Secret Six

by Brian Kilmeade • 2013

Six civilians ran Washington's spy ring in occupied New York. Their names stayed hidden 150 years.

3.86

21k+

🏴 American Revolution 🕵️ Espionage History 🔍 Wartime Intelligence 🎖️ Ordinary Heroes 🤫 Hidden History

George Washington's Secret Six 92%

Six civilians ran Washington's spy ring in occupied New York. Their names stayed hidden 150 years.

by Brian Kilmeade 2013

3.86

21k+ ratings

🏴 American Revolution 🕵️ Espionage History 🔍 Wartime Intelligence 🎖️ Ordinary Heroes 🤫 Hidden History

The Great Debate

by Yuval Levin • 2013

Burke and Paine split over human nature and justice. Their argument became right and left.

3.87

1k+

🏛️ Political Philosophy 📜 Intellectual History ⚖️ Left Vs Right 🔄 Reform Vs Revolution 🕯️ Modern Conservatism

The Great Debate 92%

Burke and Paine split over human nature and justice. Their argument became right and left.

by Yuval Levin 2013

3.87

1k+ ratings

🏛️ Political Philosophy 📜 Intellectual History ⚖️ Left Vs Right 🔄 Reform Vs Revolution 🕯️ Modern Conservatism

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. • 1957

An aristocrat's reluctant turn toward populism, set against the crash of an economic order.

4.19

455

🇺🇸 Presidential Biography 🗽 Interwar America 🌱 Political Origins 🌊 Progressive Era 🏛️ Aristocratic Legacy

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33 Summary

The Crisis of the Old Order 1919-33 92%

An aristocrat's reluctant turn toward populism, set against the crash of an economic order.

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. 1957

4.19

455 ratings

🇺🇸 Presidential Biography 🗽 Interwar America 🌱 Political Origins 🌊 Progressive Era 🏛️ Aristocratic Legacy

The Great Agnostic

by Susan Jacoby • 2013

The man who drew thousands to hear him speak: why America forgot Robert Ingersoll.

4.04

720

🏛️ American History 📚 Intellectual History 🙏 Religious Criticism 🔬 Reason And Science 🗽 American Freethought

The Great Agnostic 91%

The man who drew thousands to hear him speak: why America forgot Robert Ingersoll.

by Susan Jacoby 2013

4.04

720 ratings

🏛️ American History 📚 Intellectual History 🙏 Religious Criticism 🔬 Reason And Science 🗽 American Freethought

The Pioneers

by David McCullough • 2019

Before the Constitution, one land deal doubled the country and banned slavery in every future state.

3.82

28k+

🇺🇸 Early American Republic 🪓 Frontier Settlement 🌄 Westward Expansion 🏛️ Nation Building 🏕️ Frontier Life

The Pioneers 91%

Before the Constitution, one land deal doubled the country and banned slavery in every future state.

by David McCullough 2019

3.82

28k+ ratings

🇺🇸 Early American Republic 🪓 Frontier Settlement 🌄 Westward Expansion 🏛️ Nation Building 🏕️ Frontier Life

1776

by David McCullough • 2005

How a year of defeats and desertions almost ended the American Revolution before it began.

4.10

250k+

🦅 American Revolution ⚔️ Military History 🏰 18th Century Warfare 📖 Narrative History 📚 Popular History

1776 91%

How a year of defeats and desertions almost ended the American Revolution before it began.

by David McCullough 2005

4.10

250k+ ratings

🦅 American Revolution ⚔️ Military History 🏰 18th Century Warfare 📖 Narrative History 📚 Popular History

The Five Thousand Year Leap

by W. Cleon Skousen • 1981

The principles that compressed 5,000 years of political trial into a single working republic.

4.27

7k+

🏛️ Founding Fathers ⚖️ Natural Law 🗽 Classical Liberalism 🫡 Civic Virtue 📜 Originalism

The Five Thousand Year Leap 91%

The principles that compressed 5,000 years of political trial into a single working republic.

by W. Cleon Skousen 1981

4.27

7k+ ratings

🏛️ Founding Fathers ⚖️ Natural Law 🗽 Classical Liberalism 🫡 Civic Virtue 📜 Originalism

The Truth About Trump

by Michael D'Antonio • 2015

A Queens developer's decades-long project of self-invention, and how it conquered America.

3.54

795

🏛️ Political Biographies 💼 Business Moguls 👨‍👦 Family Dynasties 🗳️ Populist Politics 📺 Media Manipulation

The Truth About Trump 91%

A Queens developer's decades-long project of self-invention, and how it conquered America.

by Michael D'Antonio 2015

3.54

795 ratings

🏛️ Political Biographies 💼 Business Moguls 👨‍👦 Family Dynasties 🗳️ Populist Politics 📺 Media Manipulation

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History

by Terrence Edward Paupp • 2014

RFK's vision linked civil rights, poverty, and foreign policy into a radical, unfinished challenge.

4.00

🗳️ Political Biography ⚖️ Moral Leadership 💰 Economic Justice ✊ Civil Rights Movement ☮️ Antiwar Activism

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History Summary

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History 91%

RFK's vision linked civil rights, poverty, and foreign policy into a radical, unfinished challenge.

by Terrence Edward Paupp 2014

4.00

1 ratings

🗳️ Political Biography ⚖️ Moral Leadership 💰 Economic Justice ✊ Civil Rights Movement ☮️ Antiwar Activism

Confronting the Presidents

by Bill O'Reilly • 2024

Every president had flaws, some fatal. A blunt survey of who delivered, who failed, and why.

4.26

7k+

🏛️ Presidential History 👤 Character Studies 🗣️ Opinionated History 🇺🇸 American Presidency 📖 Accessible History

Confronting the Presidents 91%

Every president had flaws, some fatal. A blunt survey of who delivered, who failed, and why.

by Bill O'Reilly 2024

4.26

7k+ ratings

🏛️ Presidential History 👤 Character Studies 🗣️ Opinionated History 🇺🇸 American Presidency 📖 Accessible History

The Price of Greatness

by Jay Cost • 2018

The Constitution's coauthors split over its purpose. That rift still produces American oligarchy.

3.71

245

🔔 Founding Era 📜 Constitutional Debates 💰 Hamiltonian Economics ⚖️ Madisonian Democracy 🐍 Political Corruption

The Price of Greatness 91%

The Constitution's coauthors split over its purpose. That rift still produces American oligarchy.

by Jay Cost 2018

3.71

245 ratings

🔔 Founding Era 📜 Constitutional Debates 💰 Hamiltonian Economics ⚖️ Madisonian Democracy 🐍 Political Corruption

Common Sense

by Thomas Paine • 1776

A plain argument that kings and birthright are frauds, and America must walk away now.

4.00

40k+

🇺🇸 American Revolution 🏛️ Political Philosophy 🗳️ Republicanism 👑 Anti-Monarchism 💡 Enlightenment Politics

Common Sense 91%

A plain argument that kings and birthright are frauds, and America must walk away now.

by Thomas Paine 1776

4.00

40k+ ratings

🇺🇸 American Revolution 🏛️ Political Philosophy 🗳️ Republicanism 👑 Anti-Monarchism 💡 Enlightenment Politics

Team of Rivals

by Doris Kearns Goodwin • 2005

Lincoln beat three famous rivals for president. Then he hired every last one of them.

4.29

201k+

👤 Presidential Biography 🏛️ Political Leadership ⚔️ Civil War Era 📋 Cabinet Politics 🤝 Political Rivalry

Team of Rivals 91%

Lincoln beat three famous rivals for president. Then he hired every last one of them.

by Doris Kearns Goodwin 2005

4.29

201k+ ratings

👤 Presidential Biography 🏛️ Political Leadership ⚔️ Civil War Era 📋 Cabinet Politics 🤝 Political Rivalry

Washington's Spies

by Alexander Rose • 2006

Washington's spies weren't professionals. They were neighbors who took their secret to the grave.

3.82

6k+

🦅 American Revolution 🕵️ Espionage History 🎖️ Military Intelligence 🔐 Spycraft 🔢 Secret Codes

Washington's Spies 91%

Washington's spies weren't professionals. They were neighbors who took their secret to the grave.

by Alexander Rose 2006

3.82

6k+ ratings

🦅 American Revolution 🕵️ Espionage History 🎖️ Military Intelligence 🔐 Spycraft 🔢 Secret Codes

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