Hundreds of delightful aphorisms, carefully selected from many issues of Franklin's popular 18th-century publication: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise"; "Love your Neighbor; yet don't pull down your Hedge"; "He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas" and many more.

Benjamin Franklins account of his rise from poverty and obscurity to affluence and fame has charmed every generation of readers since it first appeared. Begun as a collection of anecdotes for his son, the memoir grew into a history of his remarkable achievements in the literary, scientific, and political realms. A printer, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and statesman, Franklin was also a brilliant writer whose wit and wisdom shine on every page. HisAutobiography...

Famous as a scientist, statesman, philosopher, businessman, and civic leader, Benjamin Franklin was also one of the most powerful and controversial American writers of his time, and has been a subject of intense debate ever since: to Matthew Arnold, he exemplified "victorious good sense"; to D.H. Lawrence, he was "the first dummy American." Franklin's classic Autobiography is his last word on his greatest literary creation -- his own invented persona,...