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By
Stacy Schiff and
Jason Culp (narrator)
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Bibliographic Detail
Publisher
Random House
Publication date
March 22, 2005
Binding
CD/Spoken Word
Edition
Abridged
Book category
Adult Non-Fiction
ISBN-13
9780739320389
ISBN-10
0739320386
Dimensions
1.25 by 5.50 by 6.25 in.
Weight
0.55 lbs.
Availability§
Publisher Out of Stock Indefinitely
Original list price
$37.95
Other format details
audio
§As reported by publisher
Amazon.com says people who bought this book also bought:
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Summaries and Reviews
Summary
Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
Amazon.com description: Product Description: âIn December 1776, a small boat delivered an old man to France.â So begins a dazzling narrative account of Benjamin Franklinâs French mission, the most exactingâand momentousâeight years of his life.
When Franklin embarked, the colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder or common cause; like all adolescents, they were to discover that there was a difference between declaring independence and achieving it. To close that gap Franklin was dispatched to Paris, amid great secrecy, across a winter sea thick with enemy cruisers. He was seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French. He was also among the most famous men in the world.
Franklin well understood that he was off on the greatest gamble of his career. But despite minimal direction from Congress he was soon outwitting the British secret service and stirring passion for a republic in an absolute monarchy.
In A Great Improvisation Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff offers an utterly fresh and thrilling account of Franklinâs Parisian adventure and of Americaâs debut on the world stage. Schiff weaves her tale of international intrigue from new and little-known primary sources, working from a host of diplomatic archives, family papers, and intelligence reports. From her pages emerges a particularly human Founding Father, as well as a vivid sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our countryâs bid for independence.
When Franklin embarked, the colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder or common cause; like all adolescents, they were to discover that there was a difference between declaring independence and achieving it. To close that gap Franklin was dispatched to Paris, amid great secrecy, across a winter sea thick with enemy cruisers. He was seventy years old, without any diplomatic training, and possessed of the most rudimentary French. He was also among the most famous men in the world.
Franklin well understood that he was off on the greatest gamble of his career. But despite minimal direction from Congress he was soon outwitting the British secret service and stirring passion for a republic in an absolute monarchy.
In A Great Improvisation Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff offers an utterly fresh and thrilling account of Franklinâs Parisian adventure and of Americaâs debut on the world stage. Schiff weaves her tale of international intrigue from new and little-known primary sources, working from a host of diplomatic archives, family papers, and intelligence reports. From her pages emerges a particularly human Founding Father, as well as a vivid sense of how fragile, improvisational, and international was our countryâs bid for independence.
Editions
Hardcover
Large print edition from Thorndike Pr (August 15, 2005)
9780786278329 | details & prices | 973 pages | 5.75 × 8.50 × 2.00 in. | 2.40 lbs | List price $30.95
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
from Henry Holt & Co (April 2, 2005)
9780805066333 | details & prices | 489 pages | 6.50 × 10.00 × 1.75 in. | 1.95 lbs | List price $30.00
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
Paperback
Reprint edition from Henry Holt & Co (January 10, 2006)
9780805080094 | details & prices | 489 pages | 5.75 × 8.25 × 1.00 in. | 1.00 lbs | List price $20.00
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
CD/Spoken Word
The price comparison is for this edition
With Jason Culp (other contributor) |
Abridged edition from Random House (March 22, 2005)
9780739320389 | details & prices | 5.50 × 6.25 × 1.25 in. | 0.55 lbs | List price $37.95
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
Cassette/Spoken Word
With Jason Culp (other contributor) |
Abridged edition from Random House (March 22, 2005)
9780739320372 | details & prices | 4.25 × 6.25 × 2.75 in. | 0.60 lbs | List price $32.95
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
About: Reveals how Benjamin Franklin outmaneuvered hostile colleagues, British spies, French informers, and other challenges to convince France to underwrite America's experiment in democracy.
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