"I have sometimes almost wished it had been my destiny to have been born two or three centuries hence." -- Ben Franklin Was Benjamin Franklin an indispensable public servant or a cunning chameleon? A hard-headed entrepreneur or an opportunistic privateer? A devoted family man or a notorious womanizer? A scientist and inventor or a hoaxer and self promoter? A believer or a heretic? The first civilized American or the most dangerous man in America? Read this book, and you decide! In The Greatest American, Dr. Mark Skousen--"America's Economist" and a direct descendant of the old man--reveals many new features and little-known facts about Ben Franklin, such as: - Why Franklin was a free trader: "No nation was ever ruined by trade." - The surprising benefits of inflation to pay for the American Revolution. - How the War of Independence transformed him from a religious heretic to a believing theist. - Why he hated party politics. - How he changed his mind about slavery and became a devout abolitionist. - The truth about his love affairs with women. Did he really abandon his wife Deborah, or did she abandon him? - Why he never applied for any patents for his famous inventions. - Why George Washington loved Franklin and John Adams despised him. - Why he turned against his beloved son, William, and never forgave him. - His preference for private welfare and charities rather than state-run social programs and welfare. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest of the founding fathers -- he was indeed a whole generation ahead of George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson -- and yet he was the most forward-looking of the group and the most modern of the founders. The Greatest American shows just how much of an impact Benjamin Franklin had on American politics and daily life. "Few scholars today know Benjamin Franklin as well, or as intimately, as Mark Skousen. That familiarity is on full display in The Greatest American. Skousen, a direct descendant of his subject, ranges nimbly across the remarkable breadth of Franklin's life, from his views on business and economics to education and, yes, sex. Along the way, he makes a com- pelling case not only for Franklin's greatness but also for his relevance today. He is the most modern of founders--and the most fun." --Eric Weiner, author, Ben and Me, and former foreign correspondent for NPR "Mark Skousen lucidly, delightfully and successfully lays out the life of one the most extraordinary figures in American-- and indeed world--history. Franklin personified and promoted the characteristics and culture that made America great, especially the drive for self-improvement and inventiveness. His genius for diplomacy was absolutely essential for the success of the American Revolution. The significance of his astonishing scientific achievements, insights, and research are only now being fully appreciated. One can only exclaim: What a man!" --Steve Forbes, chairman and editor in chief, Forbes magazine "We can't bring back Ben Franklin. That's too bad, because America could use him now. Mark Skousen does the next best thing: channeling the spirit of Franklin in this lively and accessible book. Strangers to Franklin will marvel at all he accomplished. Even Franklin experts will benefit from reminders of the breadth of his contributions to American life." --H. W. Brands, University of Texas at Austin "If anyone embodies the Renaissance man, it's Ben Franklin-- printer, scientist, musician, inventor, author, activist, statesman, and diplomat. Mark Skousen delves into every facet of his remarkable life, including Franklin's surprisingly active love life into his eighties, in this lively and entertaining book. Highly recommended!" --Alexander Green, chief investment strategist, The Oxford Club, and author of Beyond Wealth