The Autobiography and Other Writings

This authoritative Bantam Classic edition presents readers with a wide-ranging selection of Benjamin Franklin's most important writings, illuminating the complex and appealing character of this quintessential American who rose to fame as a publisher, inventor, educator, bon vivant, and statesman.

Here are selections from Franklin's newspaper articles, from the sage wisdom of Poor Richard's Almanac, from his entertaining letters, from his scientific essays, from his political and revolutionary writings, plus a generous sampling of his famous aphorisms, poems, and humor. And, most important, here is a newly edited text of one of the most vital and important works of American literature, the Autobiography. As fascinating and as relevant as ever, this timeless collection of writings reveals an extraordinary man whose mind was always curious, always questioning, and who forever remained dedicated to the principles of truth and liberty.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1706-1790) was a printer, writer, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and statesman. JILL LEPORE is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her books include Book of Ages, a finalist for the National Book Award; New York Burning, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; The Name of War, winner of the Bancroft Prize; The Mansion of Happiness, which was short-listed for the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction; and The Secret History of Wonder Woman. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.