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Summary
Summary
A revisionist biography of George Washington chronicles his quarter-century career in public life, from his heroic deeds as a leader through the legacy that has been passed down to his political descendants.
Author Notes
Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor at National Review and a columnist for The New York Observer.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A slaveowner who had no children of his own, George Washington, the "father of our country,'' parented wife Martha's two children and treated his staff during the Revolutionary War as "surrogate children,'' according to Brookhiser. George seems to have had weak emotional ties to his own father, Augustine Washington, who died when his son was 11. Despite having the equivalent of a grade-school education, the first president, an avid theatergoer, read widely in politics and current affairs. His destiny as the nation's leader filled him with anxiety, and his aristocratic civility held in check a dangerous temper. Although this Founding Father, a rich plantation owner, hoped slavery would end, he acquiesced to the status quo and refused to sell any of his slaves over the last 20 years of his life. Born an Anglican, Washington, who joined the Freemasons in his early '20s, believed in the providential workings of a God who is an active agent. In this incisive biographical study, National Review senior editor Brookhiser (The Way of the WASP) assembles revealing personal details to help reconcile the public persona with the private man. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
National Review senior editor Brookhiser seeks to restore knowledge of and reverence for George Washington, who is today (the author's introduction asserts) "in our textbooks and our wallets, but not our hearts." Concepts like character, heroism, and fatherhood are also subject to rehabilitation here in what Brookhiser calls "a moral biography in the tradition of Plutarch of Washington as founder and father of his country." Brookhiser first analyzes Washington's performance as Revolutionary War general, in the move from Articles of Confederation to Constitution, and in domestic and foreign policy crises of his presidential years; then he examines Washington's "nature, his morals, and his ideas" ; and finally considers the details of Washington's political "fatherhood" and its consequences, suggesting that "the deepest source of our distance from him" may be "the resentment and puzzlement that come from being let go" by our fathers once we become adults. A Brookhiser article on Washington was a recent cover story for The Atlantic, so publication of his book-length study will likely generate requests. --Mary Carroll
Kirkus Review
An elegant overview of the life of this nation's founding father. Brookhiser (The Way of the WASP, 1990), a senior editor at the National Review, examines George Washington's career as military man, politician, and citizen. Brookhiser notes that Washington became something of a myth in his own time (in 1776, a town in western Massachusetts renamed itself in his honor, and post-revolutionary babies throughout the US were christened after him) and that this mythic status has made it difficult for us to appreciate the man. It doesn't help matters, Brookhiser continues, that Washington was extraordinarily reserved; the author cannot help taking digs at ``kinder, gentler presidents who feel our pain'' in the light of the first president's careful modesty. Other biographers have painted fuller pictures of George Washington, but this slender book is a worthy appreciation in its own right. The author runs freely with small details that, on examination, tell us much about Washington's greatness; he sidestepped, for instance, the call to become king of the new nation in the face of widespread popular appeal for a homegrown monarch, and against much resistance in the Constitutional Convention he held out for federal authority to veto state laws that were unconstitutional. Of special interest is Brookhiser's analysis of the two chief crises of Washington's presidential career, namely the Whiskey Rebellion and the struggle to ratify Jay's Treaty with England; the former illustrates Washington's wise exercise of both restraint and force as necessary, and the latter shows his understanding of the role of a small, new nation in international politics. Brookhiser's only missteps, and they are rare indeed, are in the direction of psychobiography; to understand Washington, it does not help much to remark that ``a sense of latent anger, of suppressed force, can be an aspect of courage.'' A well-placed attempt to put George Washington once again ``first in the hearts of his countrymen.''
Library Journal Review
Contradicting the recent trend that denigrates Washington, Brookhiser, senior editor at the National Review and author of The Way of the WASP (LJ 11/1/90), offers this "moral biography" of the first president. He explores Washington's role as a general, his part in the writing of the Constitution, and his years as president. Brookhiser then turns to Washington's private life, examining his character, his strong sense of duty, and his constant struggle to hold his temper in check so he could be an effective leader. Finally, the author describes Washington's role as the father of his country. Washington's concern was not only for his current problems but also for future ones he saw facing his developing country. This readable, revisionist biography offers a new slant on Washington and is highly recommended for academic and public libraries.Grant A. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. ix |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Career | |
| War | p. 17 |
| Constitution | p. 47 |
| President | p. 75 |
| Character | |
| Nature | p. 107 |
| Morals | p. 121 |
| Ideas | p. 137 |
| Founding Father | |
| Fathers | p. 159 |
| Patriarchs and Masters | p. 169 |
| Father of His Country | p. 185 |
| Death | p. 195 |
| Notes | p. 201 |
| Index | p. 217 |
