The Wit & Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin [antikvár]

AcknowledgmentsAny recital of appreciation must begin with one of the greatest autobiographies ever written. Two centuries later The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin reads easily. His simple style is unencumbered by the ornate language of so many eighteenth-century writers.Carl Van Dörens Benjamin Franklin is the standard authoritative biography, but I followed Whitfield Bell's advice that James Partons two-volimie Benjamin Franklin is the most complete portrait of America's most lovable historical personality. Dr. Bell's eighteen volumes of Franklin's papers is a massive work of scholarship to peruse, but worth the effort.I am grateful to Roy Goodman, directoi: of "the American Philosophical Society, who was generous in his time and advice. The society, which Franklin established, is America's most venerable scholarly society and is esteemed throughout the world. Two books that Roy Goodman suggested were Paul Ford's The Many-sided Franklin and especially Paul Maxwell Zall's Ben Franklin Laughing, both of which I found to be rich sources.