Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Britain and the American Dream

By: Peter Moore

Narrated by: John Lee

The most famous phrase in American history once looked quite different. "The preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness" was how Thomas Jefferson put it in the first draft of the Declaration, before the first ampersand was scratched out, along with "the preservation of." The precise contours of these three rights have never been pinned down—and yet in making these words into rights, Jefferson reified the hopes (and debates) not only of a group of rebel-statesmen but also of an earlier generation of British thinkers who could barely imagine a country like the United States of America.

Peter Moore's Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness tells the true story of what may be the most successful import in US history: the "American dream." Centered on the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and the British publisher William Strahan, and featuring figures including the cultural giant Samuel Johnson, the ground-breaking historian Catharine Macaulay, the firebrand politician John Wilkes, and revolutionary activist Thomas Paine, this book looks at the generation that preceded the Declaration in 1776. Everyone, it seemed, had "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" on their minds; Moore shows why, and reveals how these still-nascent ideals made their way across an ocean and started a revolution.

©2023 Peter Moore (P)2023 Tantor

Fascinating story gets lost a bit in the details

Moore takes on a wonderful & difficult task of describing the environment and personalities encircling Ben Franklin as a way to describe the evolution of the man and the Revolution. This is an important piece of any history, the environment, which is too often lost in tales of The Man. My quibble would be the time spent on minutia (a 6 or 8 paces duel?) which diluted the the picture he painted. Near excellent.

Very Lively Narrative History -- & well read

I was surprised how much I liked this book. The author writes very lively narrative history. The storyline has great forward thrust. He weaves deftly among various historical figures in the eighteenth-century. There is nothing very original about his ideas, but for narrative history I give it two thumbs up -- way up. The reader does a good job too.

Engaging story-telling

Unlike what the rather tendentious title of this might suggest, this is very accessible overview of the philosophical themes behind “The American Dream.” Moores book reads like a very good group biography of a selected thinkers, writers, and activists, all with roots in and ties to Britain, and particularly Benjamin Franklin. The narration was exceptionally good at making conversations come alive and the capturing the tone of written materials. So glad I picked this up and I highly recommend it.

The untold story. Of the american revolution

A magnificent behind the scenes look. At the Genesis of the American revolotion and of the role played by the inimitable Founding father Ben Franklin.

Review

Well done Worth listening Enjoyed nuance of speech from speaker
Story enlarged understanding of events of that time