This was the first book of Hall's that I have read. I enjoyed most the historic aspect of this story, the details of a time gone by. I found the cast of characters likable enough, and I like the author's choice of using a famous historical figure as a protagonist. In this book, Ben Franklin embarks upon a trip to Bath, England, running into some shady characters along the way. At one point or another along the way, you are led to question the integrity of almost all the people involved leaving you, the reader, to figure out who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Definitely a good read if you want to become absorbed in a good book, but don't want anything too heavy.

The story deals with an interesting idea, as posed above. For the most part, it's on the predictable side but, the author, being a lover of History, puts painstaking details into the times. He even has footnotes at the bottom to explain various points.

That said, this book is more of a two star quality if you aren't a History enthusiast of the American Revolution. If you are, then this is about a three star book b/c of all the wonderful details. Story telling quality is below average.

When I picked up this book, I didn't even kow who Sumner Welles was (don't ask how I ended up reading this one). I found that this book provided an excellent description of Welles contribution to foreign policy in the US during the Rooselvelt administration. All of Welles' official accomplishments were clearly described and outlined. Where I found difficulty with this book was when it went into detail about Welles' personal life. It was clear that the author (Welles' son) was trying to be very objective about his father's life. However the book fluctuates between being very objective about Welles -- mostly on the more controversial aspects -- and revealing too much detail about small seemingly inconsequential events about which the author seems to have included simply because he was there. This book also has a tendency to apply villain or saint status to everyone but Welles. Roosevelt could do no wrong, and Hull, Bullitt, and van Hamme were all selfish evil men who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. I doubt that in reality, things were that black and white. However, coming in knowing very little about these people, I was very interested in learning about the influence Welles had in World affairs during WWII and the discord that seems to have existed in the US government during this time.

Franklin in Paris arranging for French help in the Revolution is an inherently fascinating topic. Davis Schoenbrun gave it a good thorough treatment. However, Schoenbrun is a plain writer, without any noticeable style, wit, insight. He does not manage to create any feeling of "triumph." Ths frustrations of his mission, however, are evident.

Although laced with facts it posed no new ideas and a majority of the reading was difficult due to confusion on which Franklin was being refered to. the Inclusion of the letters and speaches in the back was very informitive but if you are truly interested go to the library and just look up the such for yourself. All in all i found it to just be a sophisticated report and not anything particularly new or interesting, if you are interested in this subject get the Autobiographies.

Benjamin and William Franklin, Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist is a very informative book. This book shows how a father and son can go from loving one another to hating each other. This book goes threw the steps that Ben and Will took throughout their lives to make them become who they were. The author, Sheila L. Skemp, breaks down both individuals life to show you how they could have been in the opposite shoes in the out come.

The author starts out with a lot of facts about both men in their younger years. Showing how they grew up and became adults with really very different upbringings. Then she tells how the two men worked together throughout most of their lives up until the Revolutionary War. She shows how the held similar government jobs and liked similar past times. She then goes on to sum up the choices they made and how this persuaded each one to become either a patriot or a loyalist. Sheila L. Skemp uses many facts to back her writing decisions. She also includes a complete thirty-one pages of documents. These documents are anything from letters, to speeches, to articles from newspapers. She also tells, throughout the book, when to refer to these documents to be able to keep in mind what the actual reason for different events were. She also placed a time line in the back to allow you to keep the time of the events strait.

Although this is a very decent book about history, there were a few items I did not like about it. In some parts throughout the book telling which Franklin the author was talking about was difficult. The wording used in many places was confusing in telling the difference. This making the time spent reading a bit lengthy because of the time spent back reading to find out which Franklin she was talking about. Also due to all the facts some parts were a bit boring, but for the person who likes to read about history the facts are essential.

For the person liking history and wanting to understand the Revolutionary War a little better this is a must read. This gives a great example of the splitting between families when we cut our ties to England. This books shows how two different people lived in these times. It shows how life back then was not that easy and how these two important people in our history did what they needed to better themselves.

This was an interesting book, even for me, and I do not even like to read about history. It was very educational and helpful.

If you are looking for a well-written, picture-laden documentary on one of the most famous of U.S. warships, I think you'd better keep looking. B.F. Cooling's "U.S.S. Olympia: Herald of Empire" was a HUGE disappointment. For those of us who are used to well-illustrated ship's biographies in the manner of the Squadron series or some of the other books in the US Naval Institute Series ("American Battleships 1886-1923" comes to mind), this volume will NOT satisfy. There was not a single ship's plan, elevation, rigging diagram, or side-by-side comparison; not a single map, not a single illustrative drawing--only a dozen or so poorly-reproduced, tiny, and fuzzy photographs of the ship and some of the men that served aboard her. Ship modelers beware--you and the Revell "USS Olympia" model are still on your own. In addition, the prose was overwrought and burdened with useless minutiae and excess detail, plus quote upon quote from diaries, news accounts, and personal recollections without streamlining or editing--all just thrown together. Most of this stuff was not needed and certainly not engaging enough to include. And the price of this book--way too much for what you get. My advice--steer clear of this one.