George Washington

by Willard Sterne Randall

Book Overview

Explores Washington's life from a personal rather than political prespective, sharing the story of his life as a man rather than a leader.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805027793
• ISBN13: 9780805027792
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 548 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Great Leader

Everyone in business can take lessons from politics. This is where great leaders are made. The life of George Washington is fascinating!

Excellent book on Washington the soldier

Perhaps the title is misleading. This book does not cover in detail the life of George Washington. His presidency is glossed over. Those looking to read in depth about the days of Wahsington's presidency should probably look elsewhere. It's focus is mainly on the young Washington who was driven to be a British military officer and became the Patriot General determined to drive the British out of America. I felt Randall put a human touch on Washington, at times describing his emotions at key moments in his life, avoiding the "father of our country" caricature that our school history text books tend to show us. Several pages are devoted to his relationship with the woman that was probably the love of his life and his struggles with perhaps his greatest enemy, Benedict Arnold. Attention is given early in the book on Washington, the boy, and what shaped him to grow into the man he became. I disagree with the mediocre to negative reviews given to this book. I feel that it puts a human face on one of the greatest men this country has produced and focuses on, what to me, is the most interesting period of Washington's life. This book is an interesting, easy read. Randall is not a Pulitzer Prize winning author for nothing.

An excellent read

I have to disagree with the poor reviews. This book has a number of minor weaknesses - - occasional repetition, a few typos - - but none that seriously detract from its overall quality. The strength of the work is in the quality of its narrative. Randall's understanding of what to include and what to leave out is exceptional. I literally flew through it, and I went away with a coherent understanding of the man's life and times. I think it's quite an accomplishment, and it's one of the better biographies I've read. I say give it a try.

A very good overview of Washington's life and times

I read this book in hopes of learning more about the nation's first president. I have always found Washington to be a fascinating person but I never did know very many details about his personal life. In school we learn about the legend who overcame great odds and could do no wrong when leading this nation into freedom and independence. Willard Randall focuses on George Washington the man by providing you with an interesting insight into Washington's personal relationships, his shortcomings and his ambitions. The book also focuses on his early career as a soldier in the French and Indian War and as a member of General Braddock's ill-fated expedition. It does an excellent job of describing the environment and events which led Washington to make the decision to lead the Continental army against the British knowing that he would lose everything if he was not successful. There are probably other books on George Washington that are more detailed and thorough but if you want a general overview that is interesting and easy to read then this is the book that I highly recommend.

The Man Who Invented The American Character

This is a very well written one volume biography of, arguable, the greatest American who ever lived. It is a shame that Washington did not write more because the absence of quotable phrases has left him to be overshadowed by others, notably Jefferson and Lincoln, in the hearts of his countrymen. Yet for the generation that knew him he attained the status of a near god - a status he earned by embodying their highest ideals. He was living proof of William James' assertion that "Character is Destiny". Mr. Randall does an excellent job of revealing both Washington's great character and his great deeds to the modern reader. If widely read, it can help to restore Washington to his proper place of first in the hearts of his countrymen. Tracing his beginnings from a second tier Virginia family through the Revolution to the establishment of the American Presidency, this is a well researched and revealing portrait. Washington's ambition for wealth and fame through bold and honest effort shines through. His perceptive intelligence, dispite his lack of an extensive formal education, reminds the reader of a Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan in our own century. His judgement proved right on almost every major issue of his time from the conduct of the Revolution, to the proper relationship of America to the great powers of the day - France and England, to the role of the American Presidency. Ambition, courage, boldness, and energy laid on a foundation of high moral character - that remains the American character at its best.