"Excellent." - Valdosta Daily Times "Larson laudably tries to counter the tendency of historians, especially biographers, to focus on individuals rather than teams. A leadership study showing how two different personalities can forge a partnership. [A] well-written and interesting biographical narrative. Great leadership teams generally are not composed of people with matching personalities. Instead, they are forged by people who bring different strengths and traits to the table. America's founding needed people who were brilliant, such as Jefferson and James Madison, and those who were passionate, such as John Adams and Samuel Adams. Likewise, as Larson shows, Franklin and Washington brought two different sets of traits.
[Their differences] were also based, as Larson shows, on personality and values. Washington's embodiment of noble virtues and aristocratic grandeur made him a revered commander and an iconic leader, but Franklin showed that on slavery, an outlook based on simple virtues and humility can be more clear-eyed." - Walter Isaacson, Washington Post "Larson presents a concise yet engaging narrative that illuminates how individuals can have as much impact on events as broader societal or economic forces." - USA Today "Franklin & Washington does ample justice to its subjects' achievements. Larson lays down a pairing that has hitherto been neglected. Few would quibble with Mr. Larson's verdict that George Washington and Benjamin Franklin rank as the pre-eminent Founders: Without the former's determined leadership of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and the latter's assiduous cultivation of the French support that ultimately secured victory, there would be no United States." - Stephen Brumwell, Wall Street Journal "Larson brings together the lives of these titans, showing how their backgrounds and joint interests made them ideal partners.
An inspired approach for considering the lives and legacies of these two founding fathers." - Booklist, STARRED Review "Essential reading. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Larson writes a dual biography of two founding fathers, shedding light on a special partnership and decades-long bond that made America possible." - USA Today, "A Best Book of 2020 so far" "Laudabl[e]. A leadership study showing how two different personalities can forge a partnership. Well-written and interesting. Great leadership teams generally are not composed of people with matching personalities. As Larson shows, Franklin and Washington brought two different sets of traits.
" - Walter Isaacson, Washington Post "America has always been a team project, and its Founding co-captains are Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. But until now, curiously, there has not been a joint biography worthy of these two great Captains America. Edward J. Larson finally delivers just what we need: a crisp narrative crackling with great stories and deep insights. Equally fun and wise--a rare combination--Franklin & Washington is an indispensable book about our two indispensable Founding Fathers." - Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University, and author of America's Constitution: A Biography "In 1790, John Adams joked that the history of the Revolution would eventually boil down to Washington and Franklin doing pretty much everything. This was not as much of a joke as Adams imagined: Edward J. Larson's elegantly written dual biography reveals that the partnership of Franklin and Washington was indispensable to the success of the Revolution.
" - Gordon S. Wood, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History and the Bancroft Prize, and author of Revolutionary Characters and Empire of Liberty.