Since Franklin completed [his autobiography] in his middle 40s, with over four more decades of a busy and important life ahead of him, the work was incomplete. No longer. Zall... begins where Franklin left off, using only authentic Franklin notes.
Leave it to Paul M. Zall, preeminent research scholar, intellectual, and historian, to present Benjamin Franklin in an innovative style that goes beyond a simple biography.... Gives us new insight into the internal struggles of a truly great American.
"Franklin's is a good life story and Zall puts it together well." Barbara Oberg
"A strikingly revealing, unvarnished portrait of one of our most beloved and seemingly benign Founding Fathers." Booklist
"This edition and the comparison of texts make one of America's most fascinating men yet more fascinating." Choice
"Does an excellent job of allowing Franklin's own words to reveal the major events and emotions in his life." Library Journal
"Shows us a rawer, franker, more human and vulnerable Franklin." Louisville Courier-Journal
"A refreshing take on one of the most studied classics in American literature, Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. Zall provides a new approach to understanding the Founding Father's famous memoir... by filling in the many lacunae in the text and providing what Franklin never got to: the end of the story." Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
"Few scholars equal Zall in knowledge and understanding of Franklin's works….an excellent book." Robert Middlekauff
"Since Franklin completed [his autobiography] in his middle 40s, with over four more decades of a busy and important life ahead of him, the work was incomplete. No longer. Zall... begins where Franklin left off, using only authentic Franklin notes." USA Today Magazine
"Leave it to Paul M. Zall, preeminent research scholar, intellectual, and historian, to present Benjamin Franklin in an innovative style that goes beyond a simple biography.... Gives us new insight into the internal struggles of a truly great American." White House Studies
"American history enthusiasts will truly enjoy the intimate portrait of an American icon with Paul M. Zall's excellent biography." WTBF Radio