{"product_id":"benjamin-franklin-thomas-s-kidd-9780300217490","title":"Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father","description":"\u003cb\u003eA major new biography, illuminating the great mystery of Benjamin Franklin's faith\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Kidd vividly brings Franklin's spiritual quest to life throughout his book, and he provides a direct line from Franklin's beliefs to those we see around us today.\"--Randy Dotinga, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Renowned as a printer, scientist, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin also published more works on religious topics than any other eighteenth-century American layperson. Born to Boston Puritans, by his teenage years Franklin had abandoned the exclusive Christian faith of his family and embraced deism. But Franklin, as a man of faith, was far more complex than the \"thorough deist\" who emerges in his autobiography. As Thomas Kidd reveals, deist writers influenced Franklin's beliefs, to be sure, but devout Christians in his life--including George Whitefield, the era's greatest evangelical preacher; his parents; and his beloved sister Jane--kept him tethered to the Calvinist creed of his Puritan upbringing. Based on rigorous research into Franklin's voluminous correspondence, essays, and almanacs, this fresh assessment of a well-known figure unpacks the contradictions and conundrums faith presented in Franklin's life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas S. Kidd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0300217498\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780300217490\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Yale University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/23\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2017 pg. 76\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2017 pg. 95\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2017 pg. 53\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2017","brand":"Thomas S. Kidd","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44080629448959,"sku":"9780300217490","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ee1e64d9-cda6-4327-ba21-55bcc64e83a8.jpg?v=1685487890","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/benjamin-franklin-thomas-s-kidd-9780300217490","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}