For many people, Benjamin Franklin remains a puzzling figure in American history. This book tells Franklin"s absorbing life story. In lively and informal style, Thomas Fleming presents a well-rounded account of probably the most versatile and accomplished man of his time-his boyhood in Boston . . . his career as a newspaperman and writer . . . his scientific pursuits and inventions . . . his years as statesman and diplomat . . . through his still productive old age until his death at 84. In Benjamin Franklin, Fleming not only gives a perceptive portrait of an extraordinary man, but he provides a rare glimpse into the forces that shaped the birth of a new nation.