Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies by: Robert Middlekauff University of California Press 1996, 255 pages ISBN 0-520-20268-6

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Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies is a wonderful work that delves into the people that opposed Franklin in his many duties. As you read through this book, you realize that most of Mr. Franklin's enemies were people who opposed him politically. With the incessant nature of politics, it is understandable that anyone as active as Ben Franklin is going to pick up an enemy along the way. With this fact in mind, there was one enemy of Mr. Franklin that draws an extra bit of attention to a modern historical reader, John Adams. John Adams, second President of the United States, is remembered as an honorable character, much in the same manner as Benjamin Franklin. With these two respected characters squaring off you, as a reader, are given an insight into the diverging lifestyles that were prevalent in the 18th century. These differing moral and social viewpoints are what created the friction between Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and in turn creates the animosity between the two men.

There are two other points of interest that are raised in Mr. Middlekauf's book. The first is the eloquent manner in which Ben Franklin handles the criticism of his opponents. It was the rare case when Mr. Franklin would act in vengeance or spite towards his enemies. His first thought was always to conduct the business at hand and not worry about the petty personal battles that may rise. The second interesting aspect in the book is to recognize the public criticism that Benjamin Franklin received via the newspapers of the day. Personally, I found this aspect of the book to be of the most interest. If a great american hero and treasure like Benjamin Franklin is attacked, than anyone can be a target. And the true lesson to be learned from the book is that anyone can recover and overcome from personal public attacks, as long as you continue your life in an honorable manner.