Customer Reviews

George Washington: A Life

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Randall's early work in this biography is drawn primarily from Washington's own letters. Obviously no better source exists on Washington's thoughts than these, and in this regard Randall fairly interprets the writings without bias or misconstruction. Washington's early campaigns as an English-officer-wannabe and his early courtship of Martha Dandridge are poignantly human, but once the Revolution begins, Washington almost drops from the text. Only sparingly do we see Washington the man during these 8 years, but rather the results of Washington the military commander (something retold in countless histories and biographies). Once President, Randall tells us too little of Washington's influence on the unprecedented office of Chief Executive and its relationships with Congress and foreign powers, something vitally important to American History. Overall, the first half of this biography tells a clear picture from Washington's own thoughts and ideas, but fails to follow this precept in the second half. Throughout the book, Randall appends lengthy phrases between his subject and verb (sentence-ending verbs), much like the 18th-century correspondence he followed (a common practice then, but tiresome and objectionable in this book). On the whole, the work bogs down in its subject matter and its semantics, becomes tedious in the reading and arguably fails to deliver on "a life" so promised.

I agree with the other reviewers that this book is uneven, devoting too much time to the early years and only two short chapters to Washington's presidency. It so desparately needs editing that I'm suprised it got published. For example, on page 304 the story is told of rioting New Yorkers tearing down George III's statue; the story is repeated in full again on page 307!!
I do know more about Washington than I did before I read the book. At times the writing is quite good, but it looks to me like the author got bored with the project and finished it off in a hurry.

Similar to Randall's book on Thomas Jefferson, this book focuses almost entirely on Washington's pre-presidential years. Only about 30 pages are devoted to the most important years in the life of Washington, those being the years of his presidency. While the book enlightens us as to his personality, character, and leadership, it falls short in providing an intimate account of Washington the man, the son, the husband, the agriculturalist, the revolutionary war general, and the politician. The book did provide a better understanding of his motives for being a part of the American rebellion. I learned that had the British treated Washington with more diligence and respect during the Seven Years' War, he most likely would have been a British officer during the American revolution, rather than a colonial general leading the opposition. After reading this book, I did indeed learn that a single volume would never convey all of the important elements of this great man's life.

George Washington : A Life by Willard Sterne Randall presents our first president's life in a thoughtful, yet utterly fascinating way. It focuses in particular, on his early life in a manner sharply different from earlier biographies. His portrait of the young Washington is vivid, placing his life in the context of his relationships with both his mother and brother.

While the book flows relatively well, there are often breaks in the narrative due to the author's tendency to summarize a portion of each chapter in the beginning, then go over the material in greater (but often conflicting detail). A more thorough editing of the book would have picked up most of these inconsistencies.

However, the author treats his subject well, neither worshipping at the altar of Washington, nor castigating the man for not meeting the ideals of 20th century political correctness. The examination of Washington's life and character, including flaws, presents the man as an individual as well as a product of his times. It is well worth the time and makes for an enjoyable afternoon under the shade.

If you want a detailed history of Washington's presidency, this is the not book for you. But even after reading at least a dozen books about Washington, I learned more about the man from this book than from most others.

Randall does a fine job of reviewing the life and times of George Washington. For me, perhaps the most interesting was some of the detail about his relationships. There was tension between him and his mother; as he left to become President, he fumbled with his hat, not knowing what to say. He was loyal to those loyal to him, and was betrayed by some he trusted completely. For example, Benedict Arnold was a valued lieutenant. This book summarizes the events that lead Arnold to betray his country, and his mentor.

If you want a list of every place Washington slept, this is not the book for you but if you want to learn about George Washington, this is a very good and readable book.

Everyone in business can take lessons from politics. This is where great leaders are made. The life of George Washington is fascinating!

The Angel Hunter
From a purely entertaining position I enjoyed this book. I was not looking for piles of facts that I could attempt to verify and decide if I had caught the author in a mistake. I couldn't care less about such trite. I wanted to be entertained by the story of our first president.

There are many subtle inferences where Washington is portrayed as an almost metaphysical figure. He seems, from what is written in this book, to realize that his sole purpose on this earth was to lead David to slay Goliath. I will not say this book is the last one you'll ever want to read about the good General; however, if you are willing to spend some time contemplating the long term historical impact of the actions of George Washington this book is for you. If you want a deluge of dates and accurate accountings of personal, lineages, and politics from this period in US history look elsewhere. This book is about a man. And if you allow him, Willard Sterne Randall, will inspire you with the life of George Washington.