Few men could compare to Benjamin Franklin. Virtually self-taught, he excelled as an athlete, a man of letters, a printer, a scientist, a wit, an inventor, an editor, and a writer, and he was probably the most successful diplomat in American history. David Hume hailed him as the first great philosopher and great man of letters in the New World. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is one of the most important and influential works in American history....

When ten-year-old Nolan and his little sister, Olive, find Ben Franklin in their kitchen, they do their best to guide Ben through the new world he helped form.

The first major biography of Benjamin Franklin in more than sixty years, The First American is history on a grand scale -- a work of meticulous scholarship and a thoroughly engaging portrait of the foremost American of his day. Diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, wit, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin was in every respect America's first Renaissance man. The eighteenth-century genius comes to life in this masterwork by acclaimed...

"We all have certain images of Ben Franklin: the witty Founding Father who promoted independence; the Philadelphia printer who created Poor Richard's Almanack; the scientist who conducted experiments with kites in electrical storms; the author of what is arguably America's best-known autobiography. These images reveal an intellectually curious and successful man of the 18th century, but they don't fully capture the full spirit of one of the most extraordinary...