《富兰克林自传》是世界上最博学的人、美国独立运动领导人之一、现代文明之父本杰明·富兰克林留下的未完的人生自述。它实际上是富兰克林写给儿子威廉·富兰克林的一部家书，于1771年动笔，写至1788年，前后历时17年之久。全书以平易的文风，详细叙述了他艰苦创业、自学成才、坚持不懈奋斗的历程和为人处世的原则，包含了他和治学、创业、写作、革命、外交、处世、做人等方面的成功经验与火败教训，朴素的文字中蕴涌着人生奋斗与成功的真知灼见及诸种善与美的道德真谛。该书自出版以来，历经两百余年仍畅销不衰，不仪任美国文化史上具有划时代的意义，在世界出版史上也具有不可磨灭的影响。本书为英文版。

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE

   1. Ancestry and Early Youth in Boston

   2. Beginning Life as a Printer

   3. Arrival in Philadelphia

   4. First Visit to Boston

   5. Early Friends in Philadelphia

   6. First Visit to London

   7. Beginning Business in Philadelphia

   8. Business Success and First Public Service

PART TWO 

   9. Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection

PART THREE

   10. Poor Richard's Almanac and Other Activities

   11. Interest in Public Affairs

   12. Defense of the Province

   13. Public Services and Duties (1749~1753)

   14. Albany Plan of Union

   15. Quarrels with the Proprietary Governors

   16. Braddock's Expedition

   17. Franklin's Defense of the Frontier 

   18. Scientific Experiments

   19. Agent of Pennsylvania in London

PART FOUR

SELECTED WRITINGS

NEWSPAPER WRITINGS: 1722～1734 

   Silence Dogood, No. 7 (1722) 

   Preface to the Pennsylvania Gazette (1729)

   A Witch Trial at Mount Holly

POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC: 1733～1758

   Preface to Poor Richard ( 1733)

   Preface to Poor Richard (1739)

   The Way to Wealth 

PROJECTS: 1728～1749

   Rules for a Club Established for Mutual Improvement(1728)

   A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge among the

    British Plantations in America (1743)

OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS: 1744-1785

   An Account of the New Invented Pennsylvanian Fireplaces

    Of Lightning (The Lightning Road)(1767)

ESSAYS: 1747～1768

   The Speech of Polly Baker(1747)

   Exporting of Felons to the Colonies (1751)

   Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, and the

    Peopling of Countries (1751)

   On the Price of Corn, and Management of the Poor (1766)

LETTERS: 1771～1775

   What Sort of Husbands Would Be Fittest (1771)

   To Jonathan Shipley (1775)

REVOLUTIONARY WRITINGS: 1766-1787

   Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a

   Small One; Presented privately to a late Minister, when he

    entered upon his Administration(1773)

   To the Count de Vergennes, a Diplomatic Apology (1782)

   Speech in the Convention, at the Constitution of Its Deliberrations(1787)

WISE, PRACTICAL, AND HUMOROUS WRITINGS OF THE AGED SAGE: 1722-1790

   To Joseph Priestley, On Moral Algebra, or Decision-making(1772)

   The Ephemera (1778)

   The Whistle (1779) 

   On Cotton Mather (1784)

   A Letter to Samuel Mather (1784)

   To Ezra Stiles a Religious Credo (1790)

POEMS AND EPITAPH

   I Sing My Plain Country Joan 

   Franklin's Epitaph

   Appendix