“H.W Brands has given us the authoritative Franklin biography
for out time.” —Joseph J. Ellis author of the Pulitzer
Prize-winning Founding Brothers
“Like its subject, this biography is both solid and enchanting.”
—The New Yorker
“[A] biography with a rich cast of secondary characters and a
large and handsome stock of historical scenery.... Brands writes
clearly and confidently about the full spectrum of the polymath’s
interests.... This is a Franklin to savor.” —The Wall Street
Journal
“Benjamin Franklin’s life is one every American should know well,
and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands.” —The Dallas
Morning News
“A vivid portrait of the 18th-century milieu and of the
18th-century man.... [Brands is] a master storyteller.” —The
Christian Science Monitor
“A thorough biography of Benjamin Franklin, America’s first
Renaissance man.... In graceful, even witty prose.... Brands
relates the entire, dense-packed life.” —The Washington Post
“A lively re-introduction to Franklin.... Rich in the
descriptions of settings, personalities, and action.... [Brands]
offers ... a succession of amusing anecdotes and vivid tales.” —The
New Republic
“Comprehensive, lively.... [Brands] is a skilled narrator who
believes in making good history accessible to the non-specializing
book lover, and the general reader can read this book with
sustained enjoyment.” —The Boston Globe