Ben & Me: From Temperance to Humility--Stumbling Through Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues,One Unvirtuous Day at a Time

by Cameron Gunn

Thirteen weeks. Thirteen virtues.

Cameron Gunn considered himself a regular guy-a pretty good husband, father, attorney, and friend.

But was there room for improvement?

A reader of history and a fan of Ben Franklin (and weary of self-help advice that never seems to offer much help), Gunn decided to try a little experiment. He would attempt to live by Franklin's thirteen virtues, a list of lofty ideals the Founding Father held dear, as enumerated in his famous autobiography.

Would Gunn's plan to improve his life, Citizen Ben-style, prove to be a brilliant reinvention of the self-help movement or a boondoggle of revolutionary proportions?

By turns heartfelt, hilarious, and more than a little humbling, Gunn's adventure takes this ordinary man way outside his comfort zone and into a thicket of not-so-modern values. The result is an engaging mix of humor and history-with perhaps a lightning bolt of inspiration or two along the way.

Prepare to get up close and personal with everyone's favorite Founding Father.

Temperance * Silence * Order * Resolution * Frugality * Industry * Sincerity * Justice * Moderation * Cleanliness * Tranquility * Chastity * Humility

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ebooks, Biography, Memoir

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

Reviews

[Jilanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

13 Jan 11 - I just finished reading The Happiness Project. Rubin often talks about Ben Franklin. As I finished that book, I decided that now would be a good time to try this book by a local author. I bought my copy at Westminster Books this afternoon.

24 Jan 11 - Finished the book last night. Enjoyed reading another good book by a local author. This is an interesting, authentic memoir. Gunn learns a lot about himself and shares his lessons learned - past and present - in an accessible, open way. Gunn's voice is clear and consistent with everything he tells the reader about himself. The pacing seems disorganized in places, but Gunn tells us early on that Order is one of the virtues he imagines he'll struggle with. The book has moments of real beauty, including his elegant tribute to his daughter, Kelsey. Read this book and you will befriend a man who loves his wife, enjoys his life and opens himself up to his colleagues, friends, family and the reader.

Honestly, my only peeve with this book is that much of the local flavour seems to be have been edited out. I cringed inwardly each time he referred to "[x]ht grade" (the Canadian convention is "Grade [x]") and cheered when any specific place or person was identified by name (e.g. Miramichi Valley). I believe the book was published by an American company and I see the wisdom in trying to reach a broader audience, I just wish our beautiful city and province had ben featured a bit more prominently. :)

[Gretchen Stokes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining.

[bert-bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a Canadian legal prosecutor who is fascinated by Ben Franklin's wide range of accomplishments, but the book centers on Franklin's 13 principles to live by. I admired Mr. Gunn for his ability to perform an honest self-examintion, and even more for being courageous enough to put the unvarnished facts about himself out there that everyone could benefit. His writing style is very humorous yet contemplative, and book is an easy read. It is a good real-life attempt to put into use Ben Franklin's thirteen principles to live by. The author emphasized one principle each week and used Franklin's score card at the end of each week to analyze the outcome of all 13 principles.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing read. It had an interesting premise but was lacking depth. The author sets himself the goal of self-improvement by following Benjamin Franklin's virtues, focusing on one a week. A week seems just long enough to do a superficial pass over the virtue and get a few laughs without experiencing any depth of insight. He does come out of his project with cleaner closets and the realization that change is hard. If you're looking for mild entertainment this is the book for you. If you want anything with nuance or insight, skip it.

[LeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept. The author went on a self improvement journey tackling one Ben Franklin virtue each week. Always enjoy reading about good old Ben, but the author's story itself wasn't that interesting.

[Denise Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I expected. It was both not overly deep and complicated and quite profound at the same time. Kind of weird. An easy read. Enough humor to keep it interesting and enough theory to be credible.

[Lydia]

So far: witty and comical. An entertainment :)

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a great premise, but could have used more editing... or something... the pace was abysmal.

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Funny and inspiring without being preachy. Very good concept

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was on the same page as the author, so it was fun to find this book and have someone elses perspective on what it's like to follow Ben in the pursuit of bettering ourselves.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

BOOK CLUB

[Terry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really did not like the book.
Felt it was more a diary; a writing all about the writer.
The author came across as very self centered, did not come to like him nor care about his experience.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far so good, I've read many of these types of books, but I'm enjoying the author's voice

[Kent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting, which led to my disappointment. I was loking for more Franklin and got too much Gunn. My bad!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh. i've ready better books in this style