Name: Washington
Rating: 4.421052631578948 (19 reviews)
ISBN: 9781594202667

Ron Chernow

A comprehensive account of the life of George Washington negates the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man and instead reveals a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods who fiercely guarded his private life.

A Life

Washington

Keven Wang

Reread it after finishing a couple Chernow’s work.

Robin M Cabana

That was a lot of hours in my car with George Washington and Scott Brick (who also was a compelling narrator on Chernow’s Hamilton). This book is long, but thorough and fascinating. We’ve idolized George Washington so much in our history books, but Chernow shows that he was indeed flawed and human. Washington was obsessed with his legacy, agonized by his teeth, a flirt with the ladies, a failure on the battlefield, and not always kind (as he is often portrayed) to his slaves. He also had a terrible relationship with his mother and I was amused by their exchanges. Yet, Washington was a strong leader in spite of loses and was a crucial player in the foundation of the United States, and Chernow details Washington’s role at every step. It’s a very real, honest portrait of the first President and Chernow as a historian can make me laugh and cry like no other.

Anna Adams

We (my family and I) used to live in the county where George Washington had his seat in the House of Burgesses. I knew some things about him, but reading Chernow's biography of Hamilton made me want to learn more. Washington was absolutely complex, shining, admirable, disappointing, and this book made me want to know even more. I will never understand how a man who so clearly knew slavery was wrong only freed the people he owned after his death--well, he meant to keep them until after Martha's death.

But there's also no doubt that we wouldn't be who we are without his very calm hand at the wheel, acknowledging that he had much to learn, forcing people who were far better educated than he to slow down and eye a problem from all sides, not just their own.

It was an uncomfortable read and also--enthralling.

Andy Bresnahan Jr

Rolando Hinojosa

Patrick Book

Cat Josephson

Micke Newcomb

Connie

Kathy Jedrzejczyk

Nathan Davis

Brynlee

From the author of Alexander Hamilton, the New York Times bestselling biography that inspired the musical, comes a gripping portrait of the first president of the United States. Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography “Truly magnificent . . . [a] well-researched, well-written and absolutely definitive biography” —Andrew Roberts, The Wall Street Journal “Until recently, I’d never believed that there could be such a thing as a truly gripping biography of George Washington . . . Well, I was wrong. I can’t recommend it highly enough—as history, as epic, and, not least, as entertainment.” —Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation and the first president of the United States. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one volume biography of George Washington, this crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurous early years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president. In this groundbreaking work, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever the stereotype of George Washington as a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical Hamilton has sparked new interest in the Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers. In addition to Alexander Hamilton, the production also features George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Aaron Burr, Lafayette, and many more.

Washington A Life

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