Customer Reviews

GEORGE-isms: The 110 Rules George Washington Lived By

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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.

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.

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.