Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition [Hardcover]

Gary L. Gregg (Editor), Matthew Spalding (Editor), William J. Bennett (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These three volumes are part of the nation's commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Washington's death. Hannaford's and Murray's books are slight both in size and substance. In The Essential George Washington, Hannaford has collected verbal "snapshots," brief comments on Washington made by sundry poets, politicians, journalists, and others, including Abigail Adams, James Fenimore Cooper, Newt Gingrich, and George Will. Murray's Washington's Farewell takes as its starting point a December 4, 1783, meeting of Washington and his officers, at which he bade farewell to his men and prepared to return to private life. Murray sketches the lives and characters of the officers who were at this convocation and discusses Washington's military career. Both books tend toward hagiography, and Patriot Sage is not far off. It opens with a preface by William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education, U.S. drug czar, and chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which states the conservative agenda of the essays collection: because the United States is in moral and political decline, it behooves us to emulate Washington in our public and private lives. The book's 12 essays touch on most facets of Washington's life--his management of Mount Vernon, his military strategies and tactics, his forging of the presidency, and his trustworthy character. One of the strongest essays is by Richard Brookhiser, author of one of the best recent biographies of Washington (Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington, LJ 2/1/96). His prose is so buoyant it nearly leaps from the page. Unfortunately, none of these three books represents a significant advance in our knowledge or appreciation of our first president. Readers interested in Washington are advised to consult books like Brookhiser's. Patriot Sage is recommended for larger public libraries; the Murray and Hannaford books are not essential purchases.
-Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Gary L. Gregg II is Mitch McConnell Chair in Political Leadership at the University of Louisville and is the director of the McConell Center for the Study of Leadership. He is author of The Presidential Republic: Executive Representation and Deliberative Democracy and editor of Vital Remnants: America's Founding and the Western Tradition. Matthew Spalding is Director of Lectures and Educational Programs at the Heritage Foundation and is Visiting Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College. He is co-author of A Sacred Union of Citizens: George Washington's Farewell Address and the American Character and serves as a contributing editor to Policy Review.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 355 pages
• Publisher: Isi Books; 1st edition (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882926382
• ISBN-13: 978-1882926381
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,903,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary L. Gregg II, Ph.D. holds the Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville where he is also director of the McConnell Center. He recently completed a $3.6 million archive and civic education gallery project on the University's Belknap campus.

Gregg did his undergraduate work at Davis & Elkins College and did graduate work at the University of Notre Dame and Miami University (Ohio). Along with working in the academy, he was also National Director of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute from 1997-1999. He has served on numerous editorial and advisory boards including The Philadelphia Society, The Bookman, and Air University.

Though he is the author or editor of a half a dozen books on history and politics, the stories related to his novel _The Sporran_ are really where his heart is these days.

Gary Gregg was born in southwestern, Pennsylvania where he grew up in the Borough of Longbranch. He lives in LaGrange, Kentucky with his wife, four children, and a golden retriever named Meg.

Gregg's websites:

www.mcconnellcenter.org

www.thesporran.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars George Washington could abolish slavery?, March 9, 2005

By 

A. Upshir (Annandale, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition (Hardcover)

I feel the need to respond to the above review. It is an aburdity to fault George Washington for not abolishing slavery.

At that point in human history, the institution of slavery was thousands of years old and practiced on every continent of the world and by every race including Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners and American Indians.

George Washington was elected as the president of a republic. He had no authority to abolish slavery. Had he chosen to take the position of dictator, he could possibly have accomplished that end, but I sincerely doubt it. You seek to end one wrong by committing another.

This kind of historical perspective does not serve to enlighten but obscure the facts.

Someday self-righteous men may want to hold all Americans of our era responsible for allowing the abortion of 30+ million babies. There are times when we as individuals cannot "abolish" a great wrong until the traditions of a culture such as slavery and abortion are seen for what they are.

Imagine my saying George W. Bush should write an executive order abolishing abortion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, rebuttal of much debunking, October 14, 2007

By 

R. Van Neste - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book! It is a compilation of essays examining various facets of Washington's career and personality ranging from an evaluation of his military acumen to his self awareness in view of classical models to his role in the Constitutional convention to the use of his portrayal in our culture. Each essay is informative and well written, and they come from experts in their field. This is a helpful response to the `debunking' which has become so popular. I don't agree with all aspects of the analyses, but this volume sets Washington in his own context and understands him accordingly. This book is a good way to gain a sound perspective and renewed appreciation of this central figure in our history.

12 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still just a piece of the picture, February 25, 2000

By 

Patrick (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition (Hardcover)

This book has been informative in that I have learned a great deal about the political and militaristic problems Washington endured during America's push for independence. I have a feeling that, without Washington's sacrifice, America as we know it probably wouldn't occur. However, I also think of the famous quote attributed to Napoleon that "History is the myth men choose to believe." While Thomas Paine wrote about independence for the colonies, he also tore into the concept of slavery as immoral, so it wasn't as if no one was talking about this issue. If Washington would have "stepped up" and abolished slavery then and there, so that all men (and women) were truly created equal, as I said before, America might not be here. It was a politically divided and bankrupt country. I don't consider those reasons justification for sacrificing another person's human rights. The racial problems we face today stem from a lack of identity stolen from a stolen people

who did much of the work to build this country in its early days and, while the opprtunity was there, given nothing in return. "Patriot Sage" is an excellent insight into many aspects of Washington's life of which I was ignorant (like his influence on the Constitutional Convention) Sadly, some of its essays are too right-wing, to the point of Clinton bashing. What modern era president could really live up to the accomplishments of the one who defined the job's parameters ? One essay focuses on the moral symbolism of Washington now devoid in today's presidents, while another openly admits he gambled and sought prostitutes. To be read overall with some perspective.