We need more Ben Franklin in our lives. He is the least dead of America's founders, a tonic for our troubled times. Those are just a few of the takeaways from Eric Weiner’s new book, "Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder’s Formula for a Long and Useful Life."
Ben Franklin lingers in our imaginations. He was a founder, statesman, scientist, inventor, diplomat, publisher, humorist, and philosopher. He conducted groundbreaking electrical experiments and believed deeply in the American experiment, but Ben Franklin’s greatest experiment was…Ben Franklin. In that spirit of betterment, Eric Weiner embarks on an ambitious quest to live the way Ben lived.
"Ben & Me" is a guide to living and thinking well, as Ben Franklin did. It is also about curiosity, diligence, and, most of all, the elusive goal of self-improvement. Franklin supplies much-needed lessons about aging, altruism, political compromise, fresh air, anger management, music, and much more. Ben was no saint but, Weiner argues, the world would be a better place, and we'd all be a bit happier, if we led more Ben-like lives.
Eric Weiner is author of the New York Times bestsellers "The Geography of Bliss and The Geography of Genius," as well as "Man Seeks God" and "The Socrates Express." We welcome Eric to the RT this morning.
