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George Washington Remembers: Reflections on the French and Indian War

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This richly illustrated and thoroughly documented book preserves and perpetuates George Washington's ONLY autobiographical account: Here he recalls the world war that he started, the war that transformed North America, and created the United States and Canada. "Big picture" historians will delight in the accompanying essays by Professors Anderson, Higginbotham, and Zagarri. Those concerned with historical specificities and historic sites will applaud the thoroughness of annotators Martin West and Burton Kummerow. All of us wanting to SEE the 18th century will appreciate the collection of portraits and maps assembled here. In this volume, the marble Washington morphs back into the real person he once was: a middle-aged man at yet another decisive turning point in his career (the first-ever Presidency lay just ahead) thinking back to his resume-ruining role in the series of disasters launching the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War). What did it all mean? How had he ended up at THIS juncture? In wrestling with this memoir, he comes to understand that he had been preserved by Providence for the enormous challenge ahead. We should all be thankful that he was; and thankful for the guiding hand of Providence that preserved the manuscript and makes accessible this compelling volume.

This is an excellent book of high quality which merits the attention of sudents of both the French and Indian War and George Washington.The many portrait images are clear and sharp. The images of the 11 manuscript pages are not easy to read, but to a large extent this appears to be due to the condition of the document, which is over 200 years old. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to see the actual handwriting of Washington in one of his few autobiographical efforts. The actual content of the manuscript appears in highly readable transcript immediately following the images of the manuscript pages. A preliminary "Note to the Reader" suggests reading the transcript first before attempting to read Washington's handwriting. Following the transcript are 77 annotations by Martin West, the highly regarded director of Fort Ligonier and author of numerous historical articles on the French and Indian War.In some respects, these scholarly, yet concise annotations are the most interesting aspect of this book.The book also contains an excellent essay on "Young Washington" by Don Higgenbotham of the University of North Carolina and an essay, "Biography and Autobiography" by Rosemarie Zagarri of George Mason University, placing Washington's autobiographical manuscript remarks in the context of Lt. Col. David Humphreys' intended biography of Washington. The book concludes with an interesting essay by Professor Fred Anderson of the University of Colorado, author of "Crucible of War", probably the definitive book on the French and Indian War.Two appendices follow. The first is a fascinating explanation of the conservation of the manuscript by the conservator, Christine Smith. The second appendix,by Burton Kummerow, will be of considerable benefit to those interested in historical tourism. It is a guide to the historic French and Indian War sites mentioned in Washington's manuscript.A previous reviewer remarked negatively on the book's omission of the defeat of troops under Major James Grant of the Forbes Expedition in 1758. This is explained by the fact that Washington had no direct knowledge of this engaggement. At the time of Grant's Defeat, Washington was more than 100 miles away in Raystown (Bedford, PA). Washington's only knowledge of the event was based on hearsay. One of the principal values of the Washington manuscript is that it is a primary source.Neither it nor the book purports to be an exhaustive accounting of all the events of the French and Indian War, so criticism based on the omission of one's personal favorite event seems unfair.Those who purchase this book will be glad they did.