Book Description

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, the original incarnation of the American success story.

For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome and durable paperback books. A distinguished author has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a detailed chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the choice of the text, and notes.

From AudioFile

In the face of recent revisionist efforts to demean Franklin, it's well to return to the most renowned of the Franklin biographies and winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize. There's nothing extraordinary about the narration. Reader Patrick Cullen proceeds with clear enunciation at a steady pace, injects slight emotion in the few places where appropriate and generally delivers as straightforward a reading as one can expect. One never expects histrionics in a text such as this, and one is not disappointed here. The text itself is enriching and the presentation perfectly adequate. D.W.

About Author

Fredd Wayne's distinguished career includes stage, film and television performances in South Pacific, Oh, Men! Oh, Women!, Wonderful Town, Cagney & Lacey, Cheers, and Matlock. He has performed Benjamin Franklin, Citizen on Broadway and toured with it throughout the world, as well as starring in an NBC-TV special, Ben Franklin, American.

Book Dimension :

length: (cm)20.4 　　　 　　　　　 　 width:(cm)13.3