THE FIRST AMERICAN National Bestseller He was the foremost American of his day, yet today he is little more than a mythic   caricature in the public imagination. Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the pivotal figure   in colonial and revolutionary America, comes vividly to life in this masterly biography. Wit, diplomat, scientist, philosopher, businessman, inventor, and bon vivant, Benjamin   Franklin was in every respect America’s first Renaissance man. From penniless runaway   to highly successful printer, from ardently loyal subject of Britain to architect   of an alliance with France that ensured America’s independence, Franklin went from   obscurity to become one of the world’s most admired figures, whose circle included   the likes of Voltaire, Hume, Burke, and Kant. Drawing on previously unpublished letters   and a host of other sources, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands has written a thoroughly   engaging biography of the eighteenth-century genius. A much needed reminder of Franklin’s   greatness and humanity, The First American is a work of meticulous scholarship that   provides a magnificent tour of a legendary historical figure, a vital era in American   life, and the countless arenas in which the protean Franklin left his legacy.