This “perceptive” and “satisfying” biography of George Washington by an award-winning historian “deserves a place on every American’s bookshelf” (The New York Times Book Review). James Thomas Flexner’s masterful four-volume biography of America’s first president, which received a special Pulitzer Prize citation and a National Book Award for its concluding installment, is the definitive … concluding installment, is the definitive chronicle of Washington’s life and a classic work of American history. In this single-volume edition, Flexner brilliantly distills his sweeping study to offer readers “the most convincing evocation of the man and his deeds written within the compass of one book” (Los Angeles Times).
In graceful and dramatic prose, Flexner peels back the myths surrounding Washington to reveal the true complexity of his character. The only founding father from Virginia to free all his slaves, Washington was a faithful husband who harbored deep romantic feelings for his best friend’s wife. An amateur soldier, he prepared for his role as commander in chief of the Continental army by sending out to Philadelphia bookshops for treatises on military strategy. As president, he set many democratic precedents–including the two-term limit and the appointment of an advisory cabinet–yet routinely excluded his vice president, John Adams, from important decisions.
The George Washington that emerges in these pages is a shrewd statesman, a wise commander, a brave patriot, and above all, “an ordinary man pushed to greatness by the extraordinary times in which he lived” (The Christian Science Monitor). In tracing Washington’s evolution from privileged son of the landed gentry to “the indispensable man” without whom the United States as we know it would not exist, Flexner presents a hero worthy of admiration not only for his remarkable strengths, but also for his all-too-human weaknesses.
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A friend of mine who is a historian recommended this book to me as the best single volume biography of George Washington. I was not disappointed.
Inspiring story about a unique American icon. It tells how an ambitious man who pushed a country into existence and established the traditions that undergirded our young democracy. It shows how character and determination worked hand in hand to make America
I highly recommend getting to know the real Washington gives me even higher admiration than I already had. Not the childhood hero worship stuff. Shows a very real man with hopes, disappointment and faults like the rest of us. This is one of my favorite books. Unforgettable.
This book does a really good job of covering the life of George Washington from many angles. If you like American History, you’ll really like this book.
A very good biography of George Washington. It shows how indispensable he was to the establishment of our country.
This book demonstrated that George Washington was a shrewd man forced by extraordinary conditions to do more than he would have thought he could do. In order to learn military strategy he acquired books on the subject to prepare to lead the Revolutionary War army. Fascinating
Great book
Gave great insight into why Washington was such a pivotal figure.
Historical novel giving great insights into the beginnings of the United States.
I enjoyed this to an extent. I really liked the first half of the book, leading up to the Revolutionary War, because it read more like a biography. It was fascinating reading how much more complex of a figure George Washington was than what I had learned in school. The second half, however, I didn’t enjoy quite as much. It read more like half-biography, half-poli sci lecture. On the one hand, I had no idea how messy the founding of the United States really was, which was great to read about. But on the other hand, the book got super technical and with what was written about Hamilton’s financial plan and the many, many struggles that Washington faced during his two presidential terms, a lot just went over my head. I can understand that it would be hard to separate the last 15-20 years of Washington’s life from the political scene he found himself in, but it was a little hard reading through it in this book.
This books points to the fact that Washington, not Lincoln, should be known as our greatest President. He set the template for the office without having previous examples of what the office should be.
It provides great insight in to the father of our country. He grew in to the role,, and the book delves in to the challenges he, the other soldiers, and our new country experienced. It’s a little confusing in some areas, most likely because this book is based on multiple prior volumes written by the author.
While this book was not exciting, it was informative. George Washington was flawed and he struggled with his role in the military and politics.
More reportage than analysis
If you like 18th century American history one may enjoy
Great biography of the man (as the author says) most well-known and yet least-understood by Americans.
This is an informative biography, but since it’s an overview of a four-volume biography, from 20,000 feet, it feels thin and rushed.
A great informational piece on our 1st President but also equally important is the insider’s view of the mechanizations of the government of the Fledgling United States
Another book that reveals the exceptional character of a great man and a great leader.
Happy to discover author’s condensed version of his four volume biopic of our first president. Enlightened and detailed, thoroughly researched, surprisingly revealing the biography brings to light many of the previously unknown to me about a man of indispensable importance to the founding of America.