GEORGE-isms: The 110 Rules George Washington Lived By [Hardcover]

George Washington (Author), Gary Hovland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000 | Age Level: 9 and up

George-isms (also known as The 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour) is a text that George Washington wrote down when he was fourteen years old and used as a touchstone all his life. Now, George Washington's one-hundred-ten rules are reprinted and handily "translated" into modern language that any young reader can understand.

As a moral compass; as a glimpse of history; or as a peek into the mind of our Founding Father, George-isms is a book that no young American should be without.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 5-up. Copied out by Washington when he was a teenager, these once widely circulated rules of comportment (the seventeenth- and eighteen-century version of "Desiderata") cover dos and don'ts of dress, table manners, polite conversation, and general behavior. Since the language is sometimes old-fashioned, if not downright impenetrable, a helpful modern translation has been anonymously supplied for each precept: "When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body, not usually discovered. Don't fidget or scratch your private parts in public." Much of the advice involves proper deportment around one's social betters or inferiors, which is likely to cause young readers' eyes to glaze over. Still, there is plenty of timeless common sense in this little book--and the "translations" not only add dollops of humor but also make what is plainly a male-centered text more generally applicable by the interpolation of an occasional female pronoun. Washington purportedly tried to follow these rules all his life--and look where it got him. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

George Washington -- Well, if you don't know who he is, you really need this book.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689840829
• ISBN-13: 978-0689840821
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining, March 28, 2004

By 

Seattle Sam (Great Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GEORGE-isms: The 110 Rules George Washington Lived By (Hardcover)

I have known about these "rules" for many years and have wished for a wider reading of them in our society. This is a welcome volumn that many will find pedantic, yet some will read with the uncritical eye and will benefit from it greatly. Even though Mr. Washington did not originate these rules, he obviously did think highly of them and I think we could benefit from them as well. The "translation" is spotty in places and down-right wrong in others, but is helpful throughout.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars George Washington's "George-isms", October 12, 2008

By 

Old Flyer "The old "Doc"" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GEORGE-isms: The 110 Rules George Washington Lived By (Hardcover)

When he was 14, George Washington listed over 110 "rules of civility" and he is reorted as following them for the rest of his life. Some of them are archaic, but most have a lot of common sense and can be applied to everyday living. The originals are in language of the times when he wrote them, but the "George-isms" edition contain a shortened version of each rule in plain language. Rule #2 should certainly be displayed in locker rooms for athletes to ponder. Some can certainly be used to teach us how to behave in conversations with people with whom we don't agree. I have given copies to my grandsons in hopes they will take them to heart.

4 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is NOT by George Washington, October 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: GEORGE-isms: The 110 Rules George Washington Lived By (Hardcover)

The line "by George Washington" on the title-page of this book is highly misleading. A note in very small type (on the copyright page) makes clear that the text of the book was merely copied out by Washington from a set of rules first written in France on or before 1595 and translated into English in 1640. Washington was not the author of even a single word in the book.