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As new condition beige/cream boards with maroon spine lettering contained in an as new condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Acknowledgments; List of Illustrations; Introduction; Benjamin Franklin and His Autobiography: A Summary; Last Will and Testament of Benjamin Franklin, 1788-89; Afterword; Important Dates; Cast of Characters; About the Compiler and Editor; and Index. Illustrated with black-and-white and color paintings, drawings and full color Franklin portrait frontispiece. "Benjamin Franklin's celebrated Autobiography, published after his death, is one of the greatest autobiographies of all time.but it was incomplete. Franklin ended his life's story in 1757, when he was only fifty-one. He planned to write more - a lot more, but never did. He lived another thirty-three full, eventful, and dramatic years, some of the most dramatic years in American history, years in which Franklin was America's advocate in London, represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress, and was America's wartime ambassador to France. During these years Franklin also helped write our nation's Constitution and planned an American Empire that would displace the British Empire. Franklin is one of the most fascinating of the Founding Fathers - a polymath like Jefferson, a practical statesman like Washington, and a cynic and wit beyond parallel. Now at last, in The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, we finally get the rest of the story, in Franklin's own words. Faithfully compiled and edited from Franklin's papers by Dr. Mark Skousen- Franklin's descendant, acting as his devoted secretary - this is the closest we will ever get to Franklin sitting down in his study in Philadelphia, dipping quill into ink, and finishing his autobiography. In [the book], you'll learn: Why Franklin, a British imperialist, became a spokesman for American independence; Franklin's views on the Constitution; What he really thought of his fellow patriots, like Adams and Jefferson; Franklin's candid views on French women, the Penn family, and his own faith, and much more. Soon to be a classic of American history, [the book] is beautifully illustrated and designed - and a must -read, as we celebrate the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth. On each page, the reader will discover what it truly means to be an American, what a precious heritage has been bequeathed to us, and how great the United States has been from the beginning, all seen through the eyes of the most colorful of the Founding Fathers." - From the inside jacket flaps A sample of the humor, wisdom, and patriotism of America's Founding Grandfather: On God intervening in the American Revolution: "If it had not been for the justice of our cause, and the consequent interposition of Providence in which we had faith, we must have been ruined." On John Adams: " I am persuaded that Mr. Adams meant well for his country, was always an honest man, and often a wise one, but sometimes and in some things absolutely out of his senses." Never a good war: "When will men be convinced that even successful wars do at length become misfortunes to those who unjustly commence'd them, and who triumph'd blindly in their success, not seeing all its consequences." On French ladies: "France is the civilest nation upon the earth. Somebody, it seemed, gave it out that I lov'd ladies; and then everybody presented me their ladies to be embrac'd, that is, to have their necks kiss'd. For as to kissing of lips or cheeks it was not the mode there; the first was reckon'd rude, & the other might rub off the paint." On freedom in America: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. America is too enlightened to be enslaved." About the Compiler and Editor: Benjamin Franklin, considered the grandfather of America, is Mark Skousen's eighth-generation grandfather.
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