Inthisauthoritativeandengrossingfull-scalebiography,WalterIsaacson,bestsellingauthorofEinsteinandSteveJobs,showshowthemostfascinatingofAmerica’sfoundershelpeddefineournationalcharacter.BenjaminFranklinisthefoundingfatherwhowinksatus,theonewhoseemsmadeoffleshratherthanmarble.InasweepingnarrativethatfollowsFranklin’slifefromBostontoPhiladelphiatoLondonandParisandback,WalterIsaacsonchroniclestheadventuresoftherunawayapprenticewhobecame,overthecourseofhiseighty-four-yearlife,America’sbestwriter,inventor,mediabaron,scientist,diplomat,andbusinessstrategist,aswellasoneofitsmostpracticalandingeniouspoliticalleaders.HeexploresthewitbehindPoorRichard’sAlmanacandthewisdombehindtheDeclarationofIndependence,thenewnation’salliancewithFrance,thetreatythatendedtheRevolution,andthecompromisesthatcreatedanear-perfectConstitution.Inthiscolorfulandintimatenarrative,IsaacsonprovidesthefullsweepofFranklin’samazinglife,showinghowhehelpedtoforgetheAmericannationalidentityandwhyhehasaparticularresonanceinthetwenty-firstcentury.
