Customer Reviews

The First of Men: A Life of George Washington

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This book was an assigned text in one of my college classes, and that's how I came to read it. I originally wanted to read Flexner's or Randall's biography of Washington, but Ferling's version didn't disappoint me.

What struck me about this biography is its objectivity. Ferling neither romanticizes about Washington as a demi-god, nor does he try to debase him. In the first hundred pages or so, I felt that Ferling was rather harshly critical of Washington, but by the end of the book, I felt that Ferling had highlighted many of Washington's good qualities as well. Ferling doesn't sugar-coat Washington's faults, but he doesn't ignore Washington's remarkable achievements, either. I liked how Ferling contrasts the brash young Washington of Fort Necessity with the mature Washington of Valley Forge. The father of our country certainly wasn't born with the dignity that later was his trademark, and it was interesting to see how Washington developed his character over the years. This gave me a more realistic admiration of Washington than I previously had.

An excellent biography about a tremendous historical figure.

George Washington is probably a pretty tough person to write a biography about. He wasn't really an intellectual and there are not voluminous writings by Washington with insights into his personality like historians have for a Thomas Jefferson, or a James Madison.

This biography is very even and insightful about the personality and life of George Washington from his upbringing, his early military career, the Revolution, and of course his Presidency. Washington emerges as a somewhat vain man but one who, over time, appears to have gained wisdom with age and experience.

The primary quibbles I have with this biography is the author at times may make too many leaps of judgement about Washington's motivations and personality without enough evidence to support it. Secondly, there is not a lot of in-depth analysis about Washington's generalship or his decision making process as an army commander and President.

For example, did the wily Alexander Hamilton manipulate an overmatched President to get his way on economic policy, or was Washington, if not fully understanding Hamilton's scheme, fully in charge and in agreement with it? While the author seems to think it's the later-he doesn't really offer evidence to prove it.

Also at times it appears Washington was a bumbling over achiever who things ended up working out well for in then end, especially his early military career and early in the Revolutionary War (sometimes by Washington deflecting blame on to others). The same could be said about his Presidency. At the same time Washington appears to have become more mature and a better decision maker as he grew older and gained more experience. More could have been said on these matters.

But overall, this is a well done one-volume biography.

In an apparent attempt to present a balanced view of Washington, Ferling attempts to psychoanalyze the first president and goes far afield of the materials he has. Often his conclusions are pure conjecture and he frequently criticizes "other historians" for thier conclusions and then draws his own unsubstantiated conclusions.

Ferling does provide a nice historical accounting of events and details during Washington's life. However, he frequently tries to determine the mindset of Washington and here he repeately fails. Often these attempts are little more than cheap shots. He even criticizes the President for not writing his feelings in his diary when he found that a relative was dying, saying that Washington was afraid to appear "unmanly." This is little more than the insertion of 20th century thoughts and values into an 18th century mind. It does little to shed light on Washington and much to shed light on Ferling's mindset.

Undoubtedly there are biographies which are equally detailed without the repeated and distracting psychoanalysis.

This book was such a disappointment for me. The author was highly critical of the first president and made him out to be an egostical self-serving man who was incapable of admitting wrong. And I agree with J. Meyers in his earlier review that this writer spent a good amount of time psychoanalyzing Washington. The book is filled with biased accounts of Washington's state of mind and his personal motivations.

It is also important to know that probably two-thirds of the book is dedicated to George Washington's role as General Washington and one third to his role as the first president.

Ferling writes a comprehensive story of one of the greatest persons in history. Although it is long (500 pages) it is well-written and very readable. He avoids the tendency in recent years to drag Washington down to a common level, and yet the author is honest with his subject's faults. The book contains a helpful index and not a few illustrations. This reviewer holds a graduate degree in history and currently teaches college history.

This book is an excellent account of a man who learned from his mistakes in his early life and used those experiences to control himself and attain recognition as one of the most accomplished men in history.