Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography ends in 1758, some thirty years before he died. Those three decades included some of the statesman's greatest triumphs, yet instead of including them in his memoir, Franklin spent the years continually revising his original text. Paul Zall has created a new autobiographical account of Franklin's entire life. By returning to a newly recovered early draft of the Autobiography, he strips away later layers of moralizing to reveal the story as Franklin first wrote it: how a poor boy from Boston used words and hard work to become America's first world-class citizen. To cover Franklin's career as a diplomat and as the only signatory of all three key documents of the American Revolution, Zall interweaves autobiographical comments from Franklin's personal letters and private journals. Franklin emerges as different from the common perception of him as a crafty "Man of Reason." His raw words reveal the bitter infighting among both British and American politicians and his personal struggle with his son's choice of the opposite side in the fight for the future of two countries. Without the veneer of second thoughts, his lifelong struggle to control his temper carries greater poignancy, as do his later years spent nursing his wounded pride. Susceptible to both fallibility and frustration, the honest Franklin depicted in his own words nevertheless remains an uncommon common man, perhaps even more so than previously thought.

About the Author
Paul M. Zall, professor emeritus and research scholar at the Huntington Library, is the author of Adams on Adams, Lincoln on Lincoln, Jefferson on Jefferson, and Washington on Washington.

Reviews
Does an excellent job of allowing Franklin's own words to reveal the major events and emotions in his life. - Library Journal; ""A strikingly revealing, unvarnished portrait of one of our most beloved and seemingly benign Founding Fathers."" - Booklist; ""This edition and the comparison of texts make one of America's most fascinating men yet more fascinating."" - Choice; ""Leave it to Paul M. Zall, preeminent research scholar, intellectual, and historian, to present Benjamin Franklin in an innovative style that goes beyond a simple biography.... Gives us new insight into the internal struggles of a truly great American."" - White House Studies; ""Few scholars equal Zall in knowledge and understanding of Franklin's works.... an excellent book."" - Robert Middlekauff, University of California at Berkeley



Book Information
ISBN 9780813191317
Author Paul M. Zall
Format Paperback
Page Count 328
Imprint The University Press of Kentucky
Publisher The University Press of Kentucky