Larson laudably tries to counter the tendency of historians, especially biographers, to focus on individuals rather than teams ... Larson has produced a book that is not as much a tale of teamwork and friendship but instead two well-written and interesting biographical narratives that occasionally intertwine ... [Washington and Franklin's] greatest difference was on slavery, and Larson confronts that issue with unflinching directness
Unfortunately, the author does not come up with..nuggets. Rather, what readers will find is a standard, some might say superficial retelling of his two subjects’ lives, with occasional commentary about similarities and differences that don’t really offer any new insights. Part of the author’s challenge is that Franklin and Washington rarely crossed each other’s paths ... Inexplicable factual errors mar an otherwise readable text, one of the strangest of which has to do with the Quebec Act. Overall, the book conveys a rushed to press kind of feeling, based on the assumption that marketing claims of originality would assure a wide readership ... No doubt many persons will enjoy reading this book. Still, whether the Revolution succeeded largely because of the occasional teamwork of Franklin and Washington remains unproven.
Larson lays down a pairing that has hitherto been neglected ... Mr. Larson has written a dual biography intended to highlight the overlap between his subjects. As their combined lives spanned almost the entire 18th century, this is an ambitious undertaking. Perhaps inevitably, given such a broad and hectic canvas, there are some minor glitches. The Redcoats who marched to disaster with Braddock, for example, were not the elite Coldstream Guards but the less glamorous and more expendable 44th and 48th Regiments. Likewise, specialists may be puzzled by the author’s habit of equating the American Revolution with the war of 1775-83, rather than extending it to include the decades of political upheaval that bracketed the fighting ... Yet Franklin & Washington does ample justice to its subjects’ achievements. Whatever the true nature of their partnership, there can be no doubt that both Founders provided an example of selfless and honorable service to their country.
A well-written account for readers interested in two key figures of the American Revolution. Based on primary and secondary sources, this well-researched work tells the story of a significant relationship of the era.
Prize-winning historian Larson...brings together the lives of these titans, showing how their backgrounds and joint interests made them ideal partners ... Students of American Revolutionary history and the birth of the Republic will find here an inspired approach for considering the lives and legacies of these two founding fathers.
Despite Larson’s efforts, few readers will fail to note that the pair were never a close-knit team (à la Washington/Hamilton or Jefferson/Madison) or rivals (à la Jefferson/Adams or Jefferson/Hamilton) but national icons who knew and respected each other. To call them partners is a stretch. Few original insights but fine biographies.
... an impressive joint survey ... Larson, who already has produced two books about Washington and another on the Constitutional Convention, is unabashedly sympathetic toward his subjects, though it appears he has a special affection for Franklin, the Renaissance man whose accomplishments in science, literature and philanthropy he touches on only briefly ... While fully reckoning with their shortcomings, Larson is intent on leaving the reader with portraits that reveal both Franklin and Washington as extraordinary leaders.
... a lean and accessible dual biography ... Though Larson draws on correspondence between his subjects, the book suffers somewhat from a lack of drama and intimacy—Washington and Franklin were only in the same place a handful of times. Nevertheless, colonial history buffs will appreciate this focused perspective on how the two founding fathers worked together.
