A brilliant resource to the wise and witty sayings of the "first American", along with numerous entertaining anecdotes about Benjamin Franklin's adventures and misadventures, from his childhood in his brother's Boston printing establishment and his subsequent move to Philadelphia as a youth to his stint as Colonial postmaster general, his work with Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence, and his years as ambassador to the court of Louis XVI in France. This book is for speechmakers, students of history, and lovers of Americana. The Wit & Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin contains quotations organized by subject; lists of his inventions and innovations, such as newspaper editorials, the Franklin stove, bifocals, daylight saving time, and electroshock treatment; and his insights into the personalities of his contemporaries.

Hundreds of delightful aphorisms, carefully selected from many issues of Franklin's popular 18th-century publication: "He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas" and many others.

As a bestselling author and our nation's earliest spokesman, Benjamin Franklin brilliantly extolled virtues of temperance, industry, and self-reliance --character traits which throughout our history have been celebrated as both personally liberating and quintessentially American. In this next installment of the highly successful Bite-Size series, Bite-Size Franklin draws some practical wisdom, and more than a few laughs, from Franklin's intimate letters, scientific essays, newspaper articles, and revolutionary writings, as well as from the pages of career advice, aphorisms, and humorous verse he weaved together in his Autobiography, and in his yearly publication Poor Richard's Almanac.

Introduces the life and accomplishments, from A to Z, of a Founding Father, from armonicas to bifocals, with adages and cartoons.

"George Washington laughing? That the venerable Father of Our Country, the austere and unfailingly honest leader of historical record and legend, had a penchant for tall tales and crafty quips seems unthinkable to most Americans, even today. In The Wit & Wisdom of the Founding Fathers, historian and scholar Paul Zall shatters the sober image of American icons George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin to reveal - and celebrate - their natural bent for incisive, spirited humor." "With ample quotes from personal correspondence and private memoirs, Zall peers behind the staid and serious facade of our first three presidents and demonstrates how each strove to suppress his sense of mirth to maintain a dignified public reputation. By lifting the curtain on our Founding Fathers as they engage in practical jokes and regale friends with humorous stories, Zall opens a window on their personalities otherwise obscured by our preconceptions of them as larger-than-life historical figures. While Franklin's humor and wisdom is legendary thanks to his authorship of Poor Richard's Almanac, readers will be surprised to learn that Washington had a penchant for biting sarcasm; that Adams engaged in direct, colloquial, even vulgar, humor; and that Jefferson, our most cerebral president, enjoyed laughing at the absurdity of his own situation as leader of the nation."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A comprehensive and insightful compilation of Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography and other essays which offers an in-depth look into the life of America’s most fascinating Founding Father. Benjamin Franklin was a true Renaissance man: writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and politician. During his long life, he offered advice on attaining wealth, organized public institutions, contributed to the birth of a nation, and negotiated with foreign powers to ensure his country’s survival. Through the words of the elder statesman himself, The Autobiography and Other Writings presents a remarkable insight into the man and his accomplishments. Additional writings from Benjamin Franklin’s wife and son provide a more intimate portrait of the husband and father who became a legend in his own time. Edited by L. Jesse Lemich With an Introduction by Walter Isaacson and an Afterword by Carla Mulford