{"product_id":"benjamin-franklin-9780300101621","title":"Benjamin Franklin","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book Since 2000 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eBestseller, a 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and a \u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePublisher's Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Superb. . . . The best short biography of Franklin ever written.\"--Gordon Wood, \u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"None rivals Morgan's study for its grasp of Franklin's character.\"--Joseph J. Ellis, \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Benjamin Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a bestselling author, the country's first postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant, a diplomat, a ladies' man, and a moralist--and the most prominent celebrity of the eighteenth century. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Franklin was, however, a man of vast contradictions, as Edmund Morgan demonstrates in this brilliant biography. A reluctant revolutionary, Franklin had desperately wished to preserve the British Empire, and he mourned the break even as he led the fight for American independence. Despite his passion for science, Franklin viewed his groundbreaking experiments as secondary to his civic duties. And although he helped to draft both the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, he had personally hoped that the new American government would take a different shape. Unraveling the enigma of Franklin's character, Morgan shows that he was the rare individual who consistently placed the public interest before his own desires. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Written by one of our greatest historians and a Pulitzer Prize winner, \u003ci\u003eBenjamin Franklin\u003c\/i\u003e offers a provocative portrait of America's most extraordinary patriot.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdmund S. Morgan \u003c\/b\u003e(1916-2013) was Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University. He wrote more than a dozen books including \u003ci\u003eInventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and America, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich won the Bancroft Prize, and \u003ci\u003eAmerican Slavery, American Freedom, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich won the Francis Parkman Prize and the Albert J. Beveridge Award. Cited as \"one of America's most distinguished historians,\" Morgan was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2000; in 2006, he received a special Pulitzer Prize \"for a creative and deeply influential body of work as an American historian that spans the last half century.\"\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50410049601810,"sku":"9780300101621","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_4d5e3199-6e5a-4705-8c13-fc7db19e8825.jpg?v=1729300512","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/benjamin-franklin-9780300101621","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}