Franklin Of Philadelphia (Belknap Press S),New

The Most Original And Most Delightful Of The Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin Was Publisher And Printer, Essayist And Author, Businessman And General, Scientist And Philologist, Politician And Diplomat, Moralist And Sageand A Thoroughly Rational Patriot Who Was A Major Force In Winning His Countrys Independence And Securing Its Life In The Constitution. Born Poor In Cotton Mathers Boston, He Was Soon At Ease In Quaker Philadelphia, And Later In Royal London, And In Elegant Paris. Born With No Advantages, He Died Wealthy And Esteemed. He Was The Quintessential American, Almost Totally Free Of The Limits Of His Environment, Ready To Accept Any Challenge, To Speculate, Experiment, And Question.Esmond Wright, The Distinguished English Scholar Of America, Sees Franklin As An Old England Man And A Reluctant Revolutionary; Civilized, Urbane, Devious, And On Occasion Just A Little Unscrupulous. For, Despite His Charm And Genius, Franklin Was Not Admired By Everybody. His Contemporary John Adams Thought Little Of His Political Abilities, And The Federalist Pamphleteer William Cobbett Called Him A Crafty And Lecherous Old Hypocrite. In The Next Century, Mark Twain, Hawthorne, And Melville Did Not Value Him; Still Later, D. H. Lawrence Despised The Middleclass Morality He Promoted. Many Today Deplore His Lack Of Interest In The Arts Or Metaphysics, His Lack Of Passionate Commitment, His Opportunism, His Occasional Coarseness. Yet His Success In Business, His Manyfaceted Public Career, His Ingenious Inventions And Worldrenowned Scientific Genius, His Splendid Prose Style, His Worldly Wisdom, And The Attractive Personality That Shines Through His Remarks And Writings, Made Benjamin Franklin The New Man Of The Eighteenthcentury Dream And Also Vastly Appealing To The Modern Temper. Wrights New Biography Presents A Fully Rounded Portrait Of This Remarkable Man For All Ages.This First Comprehensive Biography Of Franklin In Fifty Years Has Taken Advantage Of Yales Massive Editioninprogress Of Franklins Papers And Of The Many Specialized Studies Inspired By The Correspondence. Franklin Of Philadelphia, Designed For The General Reader, Is Also A Work For Scholars, For The Author Appends A Thorough Analysis Of Other Interpretations Of Franklins Career And Personality.