description: When Benjamin Franklin embarked for France in 1776, he well understood that he was taking the greatest gamble of his career. The colonies were without money, munitions, gunpowder, or common cause. Amid great secrecy, Franklin was dispatched to Paris to solicit aid. He was 70 years old, without any diplomatic training, &amp; possessed of the most rudimentary French. The 8-year posting served as his most vital service to his country, but it was in large part on account of Franklin s fame, charisma, &amp; ingenuity that France underwrote the American Revolution. From these pages emerge a fiercely determined Founding Father, as well as a profound sense of how fragile, improvisational, &amp; international was our country s bid for independence. Illus.
title: A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America
titlecomplete: A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America
genres: Historical, Biography, France, American, Politics, American Revolution, Nonfiction, 18th Century, American History, History
ratings_count: 1199
awards: awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: George Washington Book Prize, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Ambassador Book Award
category: American Studies