The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Printer, writer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and Founding Father: few people have lived as many lives as Benjamin Franklin. In his Autobiography, America's original self-made man tells his own story, with the wit, honesty, and practical wisdom that made him famous around the world.

Franklin began writing in 1771 as a letter to his son William, and he returned to it at intervals until shortly before his death in 1790. The account was published after he died and has been read ever since as one of the classic American life stories.

It begins with his boyhood in Boston as the fifteenth of seventeen children of a candle and soap maker. Apprenticed to his older brother, a printer, the young Franklin taught himself to write by studying and rewriting essays he admired. At seventeen he ran away, arriving in Philadelphia with a few coins in his pocket and a loaf of bread under each arm. From there he built a printing business, published Poor Richard's Almanack, and helped found a lending library, a fire company, a hospital, and the academy that became the University of Pennsylvania.

Along the way, Franklin shares his famous plan for "moral perfection": thirteen virtues, including temperance, order, frugality, industry, and humility, which he tracked daily in a little book. He is candid about his failures, which he called "errata," and wry about how hard it is to be humble without becoming proud of it. The narrative ends before the Revolution, so readers meet the man who became a Founding Father before the world knew him as one.

Franklin's voice is plain, warm, and often funny. His story has inspired readers for more than two centuries with the idea that hard work, curiosity, and self-improvement can change a life.

Why read it?

• A true American original. Hear the life of a Founding Father in his own words.
• Timeless advice. His thirteen virtues and practical habits still offer wisdom for daily life.
• Rags to remarkable. It is the inspiring story of a runaway apprentice who shaped a nation.
• Wit and honesty. Franklin laughs at himself and admits his mistakes, which makes him easy to love.
• Perfect for students and families. It brings early American history to life and sparks talk about character and goals.

Why the Comfortable Classics edition?

Comfortable Classics was created to help families build a library worth keeping. Each book in the series shares the same handsome design, a black cover with warm wood-grain bands and a parchment panel. Only the title lettering changes, chosen to suit each book's spirit. Together they make a matching collection that looks beautiful on a shelf and invites you to take the next one down.

Classics meant to be kept, studied, and handed down.