Ben Franklin

Famous as a scientist, statesman, philosopher, businessman, and civic leader, Benjamin Franklin was also one of the most powerful and controversial American writers of his time. He has been a subject of intense debate ever since: to Matthew Arnold, he exemplified "victorious good sense"; to D. H. Lawrence, he was "the first dummy American." Franklin's classic Autobiography, one of the great foundational works of American literature, is his last word on his most remarkable literary invention—his own invented persona, the original incarnation of the American success story.

One of the cofounders of The Library of America, Daniel Aaron is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the field of American Studies. The author of several books, most recently the memoir The Americanist (2007), he taught for over three decades each at Smith College and Harvard.