At first, the idea that these were written before the United States even existed as a country impressed me beyond anything else. Along with that the similarities of Poor Richard's advice (and franklin's letters containing advice at the end) to today's 'living simply' movement were striking. Minus some of the more complex turns of phrase, some of the essays/letters could have been on someone's blog.
I loved that the book I was reading was printed in the early 50's as well. It made everything more authentic. ( )