Undaunted Mind

"Undaunted Mind tells the story of Franklin's intellectual life from the books he read as a child to those he read as he continued his idiosyncratic program of self-education. As an apprentice in his brother's printing house, Franklin's intellectual life developed through his contact with his brother's writerly friends. After running away to Philadelphia, Franklin developed a new group of friends, all of whom loved reading. While in London in his late teens he met several important intellectuals who encouraged his intellectual pursuits. After returning to Philadelphia from London, he and some friends formed the Junto, a club for mutual improvement that made reading and writing important activities. He formed the Library Company of Philadelphia, the first subscription library in colonial America. As a printer he read some of the best writing in the eighteenth century. He became a scientist, assembling a great scientific library, which helped his electrical research. Franklin founded the Philadelphia Academy, which would become the University of Pennsylvania. As agent for the Pennsylvania Assembly, Franklin lived in London for many years, where he befriended some of Britain's greatest minds. Different concentrations of books in his library reveal Franklin's interests in travel and exploration, warfare, and slavery. His time in Paris gave Franklin another great intellectual experience, but he ultimately returned home to live the last five years of his life in Philadelphia, where he imparted his knowledge and experience to a new generation of Americans"-- Provided by publisher.