George Washington: A Life (Galahad Edition) [Hardcover]

Willard Sterne Randall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2006

Willard Sterne Randall, whose biography of Thomas Jefferson was hailed as “outstanding” by The Wall Street Journal and whose Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor was praised as “riveting” by The New York Times, turns his attention to the founding father of our country—George Washington. Randall tells the fascinating tale of a man who turned an impoverished childhood into a life of creative rebellion. He follows Washington’s rise to greatness as he turns from managing plantations to becoming a professional soldier and eventually joining in the fight again taxation without representation, which would spark the American Revolution.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

To most people George Washington is a mysterious icon, the man on the dollar who we know about mostly because of mythical exploits. This substantial biography of the first American president succeeds in portraying Washington as a man with a keen mind and sharp temper who overcame great adversity. In particular, George Washington is valuable for its telling of the story of Washington's early life. How the frontier surveyor took to a military career, failed at it, and eventually redeemed himself as a great leader of the American Revolution is an engrossing story that may be surprising to many who think they know about Washington, but mostly know just the myths. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Randall, whose previous biographies (e.g., Benedict Arnold: Patriot, LJ 7/90; Thomas Jefferson: A Life, LJ 8/93) have enjoyed commercial success, has now joined the long list of biographers of Washington. Because the ground of the great Virginian's life has been so thoroughly plowed over the two centuries since his death, any new attempt should either bring the reader new insights into Washington's character or be so well written as to new-mint the familiar. This account does neither. Randall's writing is lively enough, but he has not rethought Washington's life in any imaginative way, preferring to write off the top of other biographies. In at least one case, his unattributed reliance on another's work borders on the extreme. In addition, there are enough careless errors that scholars will find the book unreliable. For instance, Patrick Henry did not represent Augusta County, Georgia; McGillivray's visit to New York took place well after Washington's contretemps with the Senate, not during; and at the Battle of Long Island, Randall has Washington commenting to Lord Stirling on the men's bravery, though Stirling had in fact been taken prisoner. There are enough good one-volume biographies of Washington?by Douglas Southall Freeman and John Ferling, to name two?that one need not recommend this one.?David B. Mattern, Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Galahad (January 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578661528
• ISBN-13: 978-1578661527
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,156,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed biography, April 6, 2005

By 

mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: George Washington: A Life (Paperback)

Among the good-to-great Presidents of the United States, there can be a lot of debate as to who is second-best, but number one on the list - both chronologically and in importance - is George Washington. Yes, he had his problems, including slave ownership and a spotty military success rate, but these are outweighed by his contributions.

In the early United States, there were few unifying figures. Most of the founders were associated with a certain region or political philosophy. Other than the elderly Benjamin Franklin, only Washington received the universal respect that was necessary to keep the fragile nation together. Another figure - John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton or someone else - would not have had the necessary following to keep the United States truly united. Aware of his role in history, Washington was a careful executive; he correctly recognized that his every action would set precedents.

Willard Sterne Randall's biography of Washington is a flawed piece of work. On the one hand, he has created a pleasantly readable book. On the other hand, his focus is almost exclusively on Washington's early years. The Revolution doesn't really begin until halfway into the book and the Presidency is covered in scarcely more than fifty pages. It seems almost as if Randall got bored writing after a certain point and started getting sketchier in the details.

Randall also needed a better editor or fact-checker. Little flaws can be found: in one place, he wrongly describes Hamilton as being the son of a British admiral; a few pages later, Hamilton is correctly described as the son of a Scottish merchant.

In the end, this is a passable biography, a weak three-star effort. Those (including myself) seeking a definitive biography of Washington, will need to look elsewhere. This book is not bad, but it doesn't rate that high.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good overview of Washington's life and times, November 3, 1999

By 

R. Aguilar (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: George Washington: A Life (Hardcover)

I read this book in hopes of learning more about the nation's first president. I have always found Washington to be a fascinating person but I never did know very many details about his personal life. In school we learn about the legend who overcame great odds and could do no wrong when leading this nation into freedom and independence. Willard Randall focuses on George Washington the man by providing you with an interesting insight into Washington's personal relationships, his shortcomings and his ambitions. The book also focuses on his early career as a soldier in the French and Indian War and as a member of General Braddock's ill-fated expedition. It does an excellent job of describing the environment and events which led Washington to make the decision to lead the Continental army against the British knowing that he would lose everything if he was not successful. There are probably other books on George Washington that are more detailed and thorough but if you want a general overview that is interesting and easy to read then this is the book that I highly recommend.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Washington the soldier, April 14, 2002

By 

Randall Holland (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: George Washington: A Life (Paperback)

Perhaps the title is misleading. This book does not cover in detail the life of George Washington. His presidency is glossed over. Those looking to read in depth about the days of Wahsington's presidency should probably look elsewhere. It's focus is mainly on the young Washington who was driven to be a British military officer and became the Patriot General determined to drive the British out of America. I felt Randall put a human touch on Washington, at times describing his emotions at key moments in his life, avoiding the "father of our country" caricature that our school history text books tend to show us. Several pages are devoted to his relationship with the woman that was probably the love of his life and his struggles with perhaps his greatest enemy, Benedict Arnold. Attention is given early in the book on Washington, the boy, and what shaped him to grow into the man he became. I disagree with the mediocre to negative reviews given to this book. I feel that it puts a human face on one of the greatest men this country has produced and focuses on, what to me, is the most interesting period of Washington's life. This book is an interesting, easy read. Randall is not a Pulitzer Prize winning author for nothing.