Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #493081 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Synopsis
Captures the essence of Washington's career and character by recounting his life and examining his frailties, triumphs, ambitions, and ideals.

Customer Reviews

This book changed my life-really
Several years ago, I spent Thanksgiving with the parents of a friend of mine and started reading this book based on their reccomendation. Well, this book so inspired me, I've continued with biographies of most of our Founding Fathers(including Flexner's "Young Hamilton") as well as the other Presidents and into the Civil War. James Thomas Flexner brings to life a man whom I only knew as the first President, the guy on the dollar bill, and yes, the one who chopped down the cherry tree. My perspective on American history and the man responsible for such a great piece of our history was completely changed by this book. It reads like a novel, though I admit was a bit rough getting started. Once in, however, I was hooked. This biography takes you through Washington's early years as a child, his courtship struggles and life as a surveyor: then, we travel with our hero through the Revolutionary War, the precarious aftermath and his tenure as the first President of the newly founded nation. Flexner shows us that much of this was, for Washington, a struggle indeed, and he seems very much the reluctant hero, whose journey is destined for greatness in spite of himself and the enormous odds against him. It is an epic journey masterfully navigated by Flexner. This biography is worthy of it's subject. If you are an American, read it.

Excellent Biography of Washington
For anyone looking for an in depth view of one of the nation's most important figures, this is an awesome biography. This particular biography of George Washington is extremely enlightening, but, at the same time, it is more like an exciting novel than a history book. This is a highly recommendable book.

The subtitle says it all.
Reading this biography, one is left with the impression that if any one man embodies the ideals that define America, then it must be Washington. As if it was his destiny, Washington was at the nexis of many important events in American history. We are indebted to him.