Here is the merging of two categories of reading that, if you are like me, you enjoy–Christian biography and Colonial America. You get in this volume two prominent characters in those categories–George Whitefield and Ben Franklin. It is a pleasing, somewhat stretched, and breezy read.

His premise that the friendship of these two men “invented” America failed, but the book did not. These two men made distinct contributions to what became America, and they even had some sort of friendship, but the friendship itself had nothing to with anything in forging of our nation. In fact, the friendship was much ado about nothing as he failed to uncover just how deep the friendship was. I suspect it was not that deep and we will never know for sure beyond that.

Why I will still recommend the book is that these two men with their different lives did have such an impact. The similarities and differences in the two men are fascinating and how people took to them is something Petersen did capture. He succeeded in bringing Franklin alive more than he did Whitefield in my opinion. Part of the reason, I imagine, is that he too followed the oft-discredited study of Harry Stout.

Still, with the above caveats in mind, it remains enjoyable reading.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.