Historian and biographer James Srodes tells Benjamin Franklin's incredible life story, making full use of the previously neglected Franklin papers to provide the most riveting account yet of the journalist, scientist, polilician, and unlikely adventurer. From London, Paris, Philadelphia to his numerous romantic liaisons, Franklin's life becomes a panorama of dramatic history. A journalist and author of Allen Dulles: Master of Spies, Srodes presents a biography of Benjamin Franklin in mostly favorable terms. He incorporates some heretofore neglected archival materials and concludes that Franklin was of much greater importance to the founding of an independent America than previous scholars have recognized. While his biography is enjoyable to read, the author's conclusions are overstated. Clearly, Franklin had a significant role in pre-Revolutionary America, especially as he encouraged the people to consider independence from England and as a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration. But his was not the only voice championing independence nor was it the most effective. Likewise, his presence at the Constitutional Convention was valuable, but he was not a critical player in the drafting of the document. Franklin was indeed a brilliant, energetic, and complex man, and one too often overlooked for his political accomplishments, which Srodes illuminates in a compelling fashion. Franklin may not be quite as great as Srodes portrays him, but neither is he as corrupt or self-important as his detractors suggest. The truth obviously lies somewhere in between. For those who have read David McCullough's John Adams, Srodes's Franklin provides an interesting complement. Libraries that already hold several other Franklin biographies might not need this one; however, if the other biographies are very dated, this is a fine way to upgrade holdings in this area. Thomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, PA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Since hundreds of volumes outlining the life and times of Benjamin Franklin have been published, the challenge is in finding something new and unique to say about one of America's most intriguing architects. Srodes rises to this challenge, providing a page-turning biography devoted to chronicling the evolution of the man as a nation builder. Arguing convincingly that Franklin was the essential founding father, "the catalyst that made other founders coalesce and interact with each other," he focuses the bulk of his narrative on the second half of Franklin's remarkable life. Franklin the diplomat, the statesman, and the staunch advocate of independence emerges in middle age, after a string of remarkable successes and rebounds in the realms of business, publishing, and science. Srodes probes underneath the myth, dissecting the shrewd, ambitious Renaissance man primarily responsible for one of the greatest political experiments in the history of western civilization. Margaret Flanagan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved