Best Biographies of Benjamin Franklin (2026): 4 Books Compared

Printer, scientist, diplomat, founder: Benjamin Franklin lived enough lives for a shelf of biographies. The best biographies of benjamin franklin range from his own unfinished memoir to a Yale historian’s portrait drawn from Franklin’s writings. We compared four books by depth, readability and the ground they cover, using only what each listing states.

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The picks

#	Product	Shelf Score	Buy
1	Autobiography and Writings	9.7/10	Buy on Amazon
2	Morgan Benjamin Franklin	9.7/10	Buy on Amazon
3	Franklin Autobiography	9.6/10	Buy on Amazon
4	Fleming Franklin	9.6/10	Buy on Amazon

1

Autobiography and Writings

Benjamin Franklin·9.7/10 Shelf Score

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The Shelf Score runs from 9.2 to 9.8 and weighs fit for the reader or goal (35 points), contents and edition (25), value (25) and listed reading age or level (10, where the listing gives one), using only what the book listing states. How we pick ›

A 352-page compilation of Franklin's Autobiography and other writings, with an introduction by Walter Isaacson.

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Pros

• Autobiography plus other writings in one volume
• Introduction by Walter Isaacson, per the listing
• Writings by Franklin's wife and son included, per the listing

Cons

• Reprint edition, not a new biography
• 352 pages is the second longest here
• No warranty term is stated

2

Morgan Benjamin Franklin

Edmund S. Morgan·9.7/10 Shelf Score

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The Shelf Score runs from 9.2 to 9.8 and weighs fit for the reader or goal (35 points), contents and edition (25), value (25) and listed reading age or level (10, where the listing gives one), using only what the book listing states. How we pick ›

A 368-page biography drawn from Franklin's extensive writings, from Yale University Press.

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Pros

• Drawn from Franklin's extensive writings, per the listing
• 368 pages, the longest here
• Covers statesman, inventor and Founding Father, per the listing

Cons

• 2002 edition, per the listing
• No illustrations are stated
• No warranty term is stated

3

Franklin Autobiography

Benjamin Franklin·9.6/10 Shelf Score

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The Shelf Score runs from 9.2 to 9.8 and weighs fit for the reader or goal (35 points), contents and edition (25), value (25) and listed reading age or level (10, where the listing gives one), using only what the book listing states. How we pick ›

Franklin's own unfinished memoir, written from 1771 to 1790 in four parts.

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Pros

• Franklin's own account, a primary source
• Four parts covering 1771 to 1790, per the listing
• Called one of the most famous autobiographies, per the listing

Cons

• Unfinished, per the listing
• Ends decades before Franklin's death
• No warranty term is stated

4

Fleming Franklin

Thomas Fleming·9.6/10 Shelf Score

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The Shelf Score runs from 9.2 to 9.8 and weighs fit for the reader or goal (35 points), contents and edition (25), value (25) and listed reading age or level (10, where the listing gives one), using only what the book listing states. How we pick ›

A biography concentrating on the mature Franklin, the thirty years beyond the Autobiography's end.

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Pros

• Covers the mature Franklin, per the listing
• Includes the break with son William, per the listing
• By a best-selling historian, per the listing

Cons

• No page count is stated
• 2014 reissue, per the listing
• No warranty term is stated

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More picks to compare

• Ingenious by Richard MunsonFor science fans; Franklin as scientist, 256 pages with illustrations.Check on Amazon
• Benjamin Franklin by Carl Van DorenFor completists; 1938 Pulitzer winner with some fifty unpublished letters.Check on Amazon
• Benjamin Franklin, Yale Nota BeneFor a shorter read; Morgan's 352-page biography, widely praised.Check on Amazon
• Autobiography, Classic EditionFor young readers; grade level 5 and up, 256 pages.Check on Amazon
• Benjamin Franklin: An American LifeFor the full sweep; Isaacson, 891 pages.Check on Amazon

Compare the picks

Specs as stated on each listing, collected 21 October 2026.

How we scored them

The Shelf Score weighs fit for Franklin readers, depth and insight, value, safety and warranty, using only what each listing states. How we pick explains the weights.

Scores run from 9.2 to 9.8: each book’s point total is placed on that range, so more points always means a higher score. Reading age or level counts on a list where at least one listing gives one, and a book whose listing gives none then scores zero on it. Where no listing gives one, the score is taken over the other 85 points. Books carry no warranty, so warranty is not scored.

How to choose the best biographies of benjamin franklin

Start with Franklin himself

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life, written from 1771 to 1790 in four parts, per the listing. At 135 pages in this edition, it is the slimmest pick here and the only primary source. The Signet compilation pairs the Autobiography with other writings, plus pieces by Franklin’s wife and son, an introduction by Walter Isaacson and an afterword by Carla Mulford, in 352 pages.

Pick the historian’s angle

Edmund S. Morgan’s Benjamin Franklin draws on Franklin’s extensive writings for a portrait of the statesman, inventor and Founding Father, in 368 pages from Yale University Press. Thomas Fleming’s Franklin concentrates on the mature Franklin, the nearly thirty years beyond where the Autobiography ends, including the break with his son William and the years in England before the Revolution. For more lives of the era, see our biographies of Alexander Hamilton.

Check the extras

Introductions and afterwords change what a book teaches. The Signet edition’s Isaacson introduction and Mulford afterword frame the memoir, while the Morgan biography carries a university press imprint. The Fleming is a 2014 reissue from the Thomas Fleming Library. None of the four listings states a reading age except the Signet, at 5 years and up.

Before you buy

• The Autobiography covers 1771 to 1790 and was left unfinished, per the listing.
• Morgan’s biography is 368 pages from Yale University Press, published October 1, 2002.
• The Signet compilation includes writings by Franklin’s wife and son, per the listing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is Franklin’s own writing?

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, his unfinished memoir in four parts, and the Signet compilation, which centers on it.

Which is the longest?

Morgan’s Benjamin Franklin at 368 pages, then the Signet compilation at 352 pages.

Which covers Franklin’s later years?

Thomas Fleming’s Franklin, which concentrates on the mature Franklin beyond the Autobiography’s end.

Still deciding? Our top pickAutobiography and Writings

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Related lists

See every history and biography list and nonfiction list.

More lists: biographies of Alexander Hamilton, biographies of Churchill and biographies of British monarchs.