Among other things, Franklin was a printer, philosopher, inventor, statesman, and, not least, a writer. Franklin's autobiography captures the essence of his spirit. In it we can see him as a product of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, a type of Yankee statesman who could use the language of Addison, Steele, Swift, and Defoe. In his autobiography, Franklin asks himself, “Who am I, how did I come to be, and why am I a human being as I am?” and he answers with the honesty, wit, and charm that have made this possibly the most famous of all autobiographies.
