Washington: A Life
Ron Chernow
Penguin Press
10/5/2010
Audiobook
904
Despite the reverence his name inspires Washington remains a waxwork to many readers, worthy but dull, a laconic man of remarkable self-control. But in this groundbreaking work Chernow revises forever the uninspiring stereotype. He portrays Washington as a strapping, celebrated horseman, elegant dancer and tireless hunter, who guarded his emotional life with intriguing ferocity. Not only did Washington gather around himself the foremost figures of the age, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, he orchestrated their actions to help realise his vision for the new federal government, define the separation of powers, and establish the office of the presidency.
This book covered much of the same ground as earlier Washington biographies have done, but I feel like it dove deeper into the inner thoughts of Washington, as much as they can be known. If one thing can be said about Washington, it’s that he was well aware of the place he would hold in history and was obsessive about cultivating the right appearance for posterity. The picture of Washington portrayed here is not all positive. There is much vanity and pettiness in his writings, but if any of us were as scrutinized as Washington, I’m sure the same could be said of all of us at times.
I really enjoyed this book, even when I had to return it before I’d finished and then resume reading it several months later!
The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon
John Ferling
Bloomsbury Press
June 2009
438
Even compared to his fellow founders, George Washington stands tall. Our first president has long been considered a stoic hero, holding himself above the rough-and-tumble politics of his day. Now John Ferling peers behind that image, carefully burnished by Washington himself, to show us a leader who was not only not above politics, but a canny infighter—a master of persuasion, manipulation, and deniability.
Ferling argues that not only was Washington one of America’s most adroit politicians—the proof of his genius is that he is no longer thought of as a politician at all.
John Adams
David McCullough
Simon & Schuster
5/22/2001
Audiobook
751
In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life-journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot -- "the colossus of independence," as Thomas Jefferson called him -- who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second President of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as "out of his senses"; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history.
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Joseph J. Ellis
Ballantine Books
January 2000
290
In retrospect, it seems as if the American Revolution was inevitable. But was it? In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis reveals that many of those truths we hold to be self-evident were actually fiercely contested in the early days of the republic.
Ellis focuses on six crucial moments in the life of the new nation, including a secret dinner at which the seat of the nation's capital was determined--in exchange for support of Hamilton's financial plan; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address; and the Hamilton and Burr duel. Most interesting, perhaps, is the debate (still dividing scholars today) over the meaning of the Revolution. In a fascinating chapter on the renewed friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at the end of their lives, Ellis points out the fundamental differences between the Republicans, who saw the Revolution as a liberating act and hold the Declaration of Independence most sacred, and the Federalists, who saw the revolution as a step in the building of American nationhood and hold the Constitution most dear. Throughout the text, Ellis explains the personal, face-to-face nature of early American politics--and notes that the members of the revolutionary generation were conscious of the fact that they were establishing precedents on which future generations would rely.
Founding brothers is a book containing several stories of the early statesmen of the United States. It is written by a history professor from Mount Holyoke College who specializes in this area. It was very well written, although the writer’s intent of each story being totally separate did not quite happen. I would definitely read this book from start to finish. I listened to it on audio tape, and that helped to get through a couple of slow parts.
The first story covered is the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr where the promising Hamilton was killed. This takes place chronologically near the end of the book, but is at the beginning to introduce you to many of the characters, and especially the demeanor of the time, and the emphasis placed on honor and conduct. Not to suggest that all of the founding fathers were beyond reproach, Burr least of all.
The next several chapters focus on George Washington and the importance that he played as the central figure in the early government. Contrary to my own beliefs that Washington was just in the right place at the right time as the leader of the military, the author shows that Washington may have been the only man who could hold the nation together through the initial trials, and especially through the debate over slavery which was a central argument over the first several decades, and culminated in the civil war 80 years later. Washington is shown to skillfully and diplomatically navigate through the tricky waters of early American politics. All through his two terms and even in his final act of resigning after two terms for the good of the country, and not completely for his own.
After Washington, the rest of the book focuses on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and the their intense rivalry and friendship throughout the rest of their lives. Adams followed Washington as president after a nasty campaign, for the standards of the time. Prior to that campaign, Jefferson and Adams had been very close friends if not always agreeing on policy. Through the rest of the book, Adams and Jefferson attempt to repair their friendship. Much of this repair work is done in the form of letters written back and forth between Adams & Jefferson. Both men indicted that these letters were written not just to each other, but written for posterity.
The fact that we have these letters today is something that can not be overestimated. It’s to be wondered if a record of these kinds of correspondence will ever be kept again in the age of modern electronic communication.
Washington: A Life
