A Biography of Benjamin Franklin

This fully documented account of the 'first American' gives a detailed & lively picture of the writer who invented the lightning conductor; the politician who spent years as emissary in London trying to prevent the American War of Independence; the statesman who, when war came, served as the U.S. representative in Paris, intriguing for French aid & American victory. Distinguished historian & biographer Ronald Clark unravels the story of the successful printer & publisher whose electrical research brought him membership of the Royal Society, whose lobbying work played a part in the repeal of the notorious Stamp Act -- one of the founding Fathers of the U.S. & the author & printer of ''Poor Richard s Almanack.''