The tenth and youngest son of a poor Boston soapmaker, Benjamin
Franklin would rise to become, in Thomas Jefferson's words, "the
greatest man and ornament of his age." In this short, engaging
biography, historian Edwin S. Gaustad offers a marvelous portrait
of this towering colonial figure, illuminating Franklin's character
and personality. Here is truly one of the most extraordinary lives
imaginable, a man who, with only two years of formal education,
became a printer, publisher, postmaster, philosopher, world-class
scientist and inventor, statesman, musician, and abolitionist.
Gaustad presents a chronological account of all these
accomplishments, delightfully spiced with quotations from
Franklin's own extensive writings. The book describes how the
hardworking Franklin became at age 24 the most successful printer
in Pennsylvania and how by 42, with the help of Poor Richard's
Almanack, he had amassed enough wealth to retire from business. We
then follow Franklin's next brilliant career, as an inventor and
scientist, examining his pioneering work on electricity and his
inventions of the Franklin Stove, the lightning rod, and bifocals,
as well as his mapping of the Gulf Stream, a major contribution to
navigation. Lastly, the book covers Franklin's role as America's
leading statesman, ranging from his years in England before the
Revolutionary War to his time in France thereafter, highlighting
his many contributions to the cause of liberty. Along the way,
Gaustad sheds light on Franklin's personal life, including his
troubled relationship with his illegitimate son William, who
remained a Loyalist during the Revolution, and Franklin's thoughts
on such topics as religion and morality. Written by a leading
authority on colonial America, this compact biography captures in a
remarkably small space one of the most protean lives in our
nation's history.
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