Preview of Benjamin Franklin: The New American Summary:

It is not surprising that Meltzer chose Benjamin Franklin as the subject for a biography. The author loves history. He has an abiding respect for the accomplishments of those who begin with few advantages and achieve much. Furthermore, Meltzer's special fondness for printing may have also contributed to his interest in America's most famous printer; he had already written a biography of another printer's apprentice, Mark Twain. His historical works The American Revolutionaries: A History in Their Own Words, 17501800 (1987) and George Washington and the Birth of Our Nation (1986), provided background for Franklin's time.

For those who are accustomed to seeing Franklin as only a wise old man, it is refreshing and novel to discover the whole Benjamin Franklin, to learn about Ben the boy, who was not at all sure what he wanted to be. After several unsuccessful attempts at a career, Franklin became a printer's helper, and...