Bestselling historian John Ferling draws on his unsurpassed knowledge of the Founding Fathers to provide a fresh and provocative new portrait of the greatest of them all, George Washington. 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. In the War of Independence, Washington used his skills to steer the Continental Army through crises that would have broken less determined men; he squeezed out rival generals and defused dissent from those below him. Ending the war as a national hero, Washington “allowed” himself to be pressed into the presidency, guiding the nation with the same brilliantly maintained pose of selfless public interest. In short, Washington deftly screened a burning ambition behind his image of republican virtue—but that image, maintained not without cost, made him just the leader the overmatched army, and then the shaky young nation, desperately needed. 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.
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“Sensing that such biographers as James Flexner and Joseph Ellis have accepted the above-politics thesis, Ferling inspects the evidence of Washington’s political activities…while illustrating the substance behind Washington’s image as the indispensable man, Ferling pointedly grounds that image in the political soil from which it sprang.” –Booklist
“Ferling has done his research and offers some new insights…recommended for readers interested in taking a fresh look at Washington's political life” –Library Journal
“Never questioning Washington’s greatness, Ferling insists that seeing him as an artful self-promoter and master politician only enhances his reputation as an adept leader who knew exactly what he was doing…a fresh take on a monumental American.” –Kirkus
“Once in a while a book comes along to remind us that history has no gods, that the past is less fossil than textbooks suggest and America more vibrant than a mere list of principles. John Ferling's Ascent of George Washington is just such a book: a fresh, clear-eyed portrait of the full-blooded political animal that was George Washington…In John Ferling’s eminently readable, landmark interpretation, we cannot help but marvel at the man.” –Marie Arana, Washington Post
About the Author
John Ferling is a professor emeritus of history at the State University of West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary history, he is the author of seven books, including Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, The First of Men: A Life of George Washington, and the award-winning A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic. His most recent work, Almost a Miracle, was a history bestseller.
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John Ferling is a leading authority on late 18th and early 19th century American history. He is the author of many books, including Independence, The Ascent of George Washington, Almost a Miracle, Setting the World Ablaze, and A Leap in the Dark. To learn more, please visit his website: www.johnferling.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A political biography of George Washington,
By Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon (Hardcover)
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The thesis of this volume is straightforward (Page xix): "This book, however, takes issue with [many historians'] portrayal of Washington as nonpolitical and steadfastly seeking to stay above politics." The author, John Ferling, also notes Washington's vaulting ambition and his willingness to use a variety of tactics to achieve his goals. Thus, this book can be deemed a political biography of George Washington.
The basic approach is laid out early. Washington did not have much of an education and was acutely aware of this shortcoming. Using his older brother from their father's first marriage as a model (Lawrence Washington), he set out to create a military success and use that as a steppingstone to wealth and success. To his advantage, Washington had a number of powerful patrons, who helped him in his ascent. The book chronicles his up and down military career during the 1750s, his inveterate lobbying for military advancement, his "fights" with governors and military personnel to get the recognition that he desired. And, indeed, this represents one of my questions about the book. Ferling notes that others see Washington as "disinterested," but Ellis, in his excellent biography called "His Excellency," makes some of the same points, although in more nuanced terms. In that, it sometimes seems to me that Ferling is understating points made in other biographies to make his appear the more unique. His ambitions were also supported by a marriage into wealth and an eminent family. From there, the arc of his well know life is traced--from the state legislature and his plantation to his role in the Revolutionary War to his accession to the presidency. Through all these stages of his life, Ferling notes his ambition. He also contends that, as President, Washington was far from the nonpartisan president described by many. Ellis, for instance, speaks of Washington often "levitating" above the partisan factionalism of his cabinet and of the emerging first party system. Ferling has none of that. All in all, an interesting "take" on the life of George Washington. My own sense is that Ferling may take his thesis a bit further than warranted; he also sets up some straw men (like Ellis) to distinguish himself from their views of Washington. Nonetheless, his political biography makes Washington more human as a person than some volumes do, and that is to the good. The work also emphasizes the political side of Washington in a manner that has some credibility. All in all, I would recommend this book for its political orientation on George Washington.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterful portrait of Washington the political genius,
By
This review is from: The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
John Ferling has a well deserved reputation for writing history books that breathe life into mere facts. His book A Leap in the Dark remains for many the finest account of the American republic's formation yet written. What lifted that book above stiff competition from the likes of Bernard Bailyn and Gordon S. Wood was its cinematic sweep and its riveting narrative. Here was a widescreen presentation of history that shone a light on the flesh and blood characters whose lives and purpose (we were constantly reminded) were under the invariable threat of the hangman's noose. It was the stark contingency of those revolutionary events and the ever present possibility of a tragic outcome for all of the founding fathers that Ferling made palpably real for the reader. It was history with a pulse.
Ferling has managed the same feat with his new study of Washington the political thinker. It is a subject that has rarely been presented before. Washington has always seemed to have risen above politics. Historians have presented him as a great arbiter, a kind-of referee between the left-wing Jefferson and the right-wing Hamilton. The struggle between those two titans continues to resonate today. But Washington was more than a passive bystander. He was an extremely gifted political infighter, masterfully capable of persuasion, manipulation and 'plausible deniability': a tactic widely used by presidents forced to make unpopular decisions. Although Washington possessed a burning ambition to succeed as president, considering it the inevitable capstone to his brilliant career, his genius is proven by his ability to screen his ambitions behind a mask of republican virtue and to successfully hide his political adroitness until he was no longer thought of as a politician at all. Ferling discusses all of Washington's prismatic talents. He presents this great leader as a full-blown, three-dimensional titan of American history without encasing him in marble. More than merely a feather on the breeze, Washington frequently exhibited an uncanny ability to manipulate the flow of events. His oft discussed Christmas farewell to the troops is a prime example of a nascent master politician taking advantage of an opportunity by astutely reading the symbolic power of a particular course of action. Closing the book on his military career he opened a new one as the young nation cast its eyes about for a peace time leader. What history has often portrayed as Washington's disinterestedness in political events, of his strict impartiality, freedom from self-interest or selfish bias is really a product of his talent for appearing above the fray. The frequent political skirmishes that roiled his cabinet were a means for Washington to determine a course of action and were never allowed to capsize his administration. It is emblematic of his political mastery that despite the noisy quarrels between factions splitting his cabinet, he is viewed as having sided with neither and silencing neither. This is living history, masterfully written. If you find American history even mildly interesting, you'll relish this book for its unflinching ability to uncover the real man behind the great Washington myth. Strongly recommended. Mike Birman
52 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ambitious and foolish narcissist, or American Hero,
By
This review is from: The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon (Hardcover)
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My disclaimer;
I am not a history scholar in any sense of the word. I thought "The Ascent of George Washington , The hidden Political Genius of an American Icon" would be an interesting read and I might glean some insight from this American Hero to help me in my life. I went to school in the late `60s through the mid `70s, so I had my share of disaffected "Hippy" teachers who had their share of anti-establishment views about government and venerated leaders of the past, so the information in this political biography about George Washington didn't come as a complete surprise. What did come as a surprise was the depth and breadth of "humanizing" the icon that is known as the "Father of our Country". The author John Ferling is a well written scholar on the time period, so I assume he knows the veracity of what he states, but sourcing so many enemies of Washington as the fount of information on the character flaws of Washington as well as other "Founding Fathers" such as Thomas Jefferson as self interested profiteers made me a bit uncomfortable. If the author is to be believed, Washington was an ambitious and foolish narcissist, who lacked any military skills and only led men to their foolish deaths. A man who's vanity and political machinations ruined the careers and reputations of more able and responsible military officers, and nearly scuttled the revolutionary war through his bungling of tactics, and only through luck and "Divine Providence" did America prevail. I didn't care much for the majority of the book, which at least to me, defamed great men "with new insight" gleaned over 200 years after the fact. What I did enjoy however, was the covering of the early years of the new republic during Washington's "Presidential Years". The political infighting between Hamilton and Jefferson was very fascinating. So if there was an overall thesis to this book for me, it is that if the media gets behind an ambitious fool he can become a leader and a symbol, as long as he can put his self interest above the interest of those around him, and with a lot of luck, it might work out okay in the end. At least the book made me want to read more on the time period to get a more uplifting view. I guess that might make me a foolish Pollyanna, (which really isn't me) but I for one am grateful for the sacrifice of our "Founding Fathers" , and though I know every man has a plethora of faults, pointing them out should have some useful purpose, and I'm not sure I got one from this volume.
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