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Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington

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Is George Washington really that big a deal? What kind of a guy was he anyway?

I find variants of these two questions to be among the most frequent ones asked by the teenagers sitting in my government and American history classes. Peter Henriques supplies a highly readable response to their concerns in his new book "Realistic Visonary." Despite the plethora of recent books on Washington, Henriques has managed to produce a work that fills in a gap in the literature on our most consequential American.

The book consists mainly of ten essays by Henriques that evaluate either important aspects of Washington's career and policies (his military career, presidency,etc.) or interesting aspects of Washington's character and beliefs (his religious beliefs, marriage and love life, etc.).

Some readers may find the focus on Washington's personal life and personality out of place, but I'd suggest those readers consider the two questions my students like to ask. Washington is a big deal because his actions and policies were decisive in creating and sustaining the American republic. But how and why Washington went about making the decisions he made is a function of his personality and character. As the title of the book suggests, Henriques offers a "portrait" of Washington that helps the reader appreciate both Washington's objectives, as well as the characteristics that made him so successful.

The only serious criticisms of "Realistic Visionary" I would expect will come from writers and historians who feel like Henriques has too favorable an evaluation of Washington. To his credit, Henriques cites the work of a number of other scholars who don't share his views and gives the reader a very good sense of the range of opinion on Washington. I happen to largely share the author's opinion of his subject, so my only criticism is that in a few of the chapters, particularly "Taking Command," Henriques compresses extremely complicated subjects into 20-25 page essays. This has the benefit of allowing the reader to learn about many serious issues while keeping the book a reasonable length. But it may mean that readers occasionally have to consult other sources to gain an appreciation of some of the events discussed.

Henriques states that he intends to "make this remarkable man accessible to a wider readership." The book succeeds superbly in this regard. Henriques reminds us that Washington was not only America's most important leader, but that he remains one of the most fascinating and complicated personalities in American history. "Realistic Visionary" illuminates Washington's character and rewards the history buff as much as it will challenge historians of the period to think harder about the preeminent Founder.

Matt McGuire

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies

Richmond, Virginia

This book takes a positive but realistic approach to Washington. Rather than a birth to death chronology, the book focuses on particular subjects. I particularly liked the chapters on Washington's relationships with Jefferson (strained) and Hamilton (productive) and the balanced treatment of Washington and religion. There are abundant references to other works and viewpoints. Henriques provides a greater understanding of the man who served as our first president.

I won't duplicate what the other reviews state, but will say I recommend this one for sure. Its thematic not strictly chronological, much like Joe Ellis' book on Thomas Jefferson, "American Sphinx." Very nicely written, and even after I have read many, many GW books, I still learned some interesting new things about him from Henriques (such as the details about GW & Sally Fairfax, and GW's death.) The one thing the author botches is any discussion on Washington as a Freemason, which was one of the most important things in his life. This should have been expounded upon in the chapter on Washington & religion, but was not. Its certainly not a fatal flaw in this book, but is a glaring omission.

I have researched George Washington for years and suffered the frustration of myths, legends, and misinterpreted facts. It's almost impossible to get close to the father of our country because he became such a hero and larger-than-life character. A little flap called the American Revolution propagandized Washington beyond all reason. Peter Henriques starts from scratch. He assumes nothing, relies on the written record, and paints a fascinating flesh-and-blood portrait of the real GW, Master of Mount Vernon and master of himself. Henriques takes us through the various aspects of Washington's life analytically, dispelling myths, shining light on character strengths and flaws. It makes for a compelling read in many ways. Henriques comes across as a master sleuth who delights in revealing his subject layer by layer until the gentleman, like the biography, is complete.

A kind of a biography, but with a difference. There have been quite a number of excellent biographies published down through the years, but that has not reduced the level of interest in the country. This book starts with the assumption that you know quite a bit about Washington's life, it then has ten essays that open almost as many questions as it answers about Washington as a man.

Perhaps the most interesting is the chapter on religion. It seems that every religion seems to want to gain some kind of historic acceptance by claiming Washington was of their faith. This includes Roman Catholics , Mormons (a religion which hadn't been invented then, but which allows posthumous conversion), Presbyterians, Baptists and more. Perhaps the strongest claiments are the evangelical Christians who assertain that the founders of the country were creating a Christian nation (in spite of the First Ammendment), especially Washington.

The author discusses Washington's letters where he mentions religion, and comes to the conclusion that as Washington himself said, his 'tenets are few and simple.' -- Kind of strange, I had always thought Washington was a Deist (The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.) as apparently were Jefferson and John Hancock.

Anyway, that's the tone of the book. Ten points worthy of discussion on ten subjects, well backed up by Washington's writing.

This is an excellent book about Washington that tackles many difficult and intriguing aspects of his life. I particularly like how the author uses actual quotes from Washington but fits them into the prose so you get a sense that Washington is saying these things and not just the author. This book is extremely well researched and points out logical explanations to help you understand perhaps the most important man in our nation's history. If you want to learn about the real Washington, then get this book. I hope it becomes required reading for most college courses on the subject.

This book puts a realistic face on George. It exposes his weaknesses and emphasizes his strengths. It makes one proud to be an American and to have George Washington as the Father of our country. It details many little known experiences of our First President and makes us better appreciate our system of government that was only possible because of the integrity, the love of freedom and the love of country of this great American.

Henriques provides an enjoyable look at Washington's personality and characteristics. He gives us a series of discussions on key topics and relationships in Washington's life. As a general reader, who especially enjoys well-written history, I've read the other popular books about Washington that have come out recently. If you liked those, too, and have a general understanding of Washington's life and accomplishments, this won't bore you by covering the same ground, but will add to the depth and understanding of the person behind the image.

Not a complete biography, but an approach that may well be better for most general readers. The book covers a series of specific topics of continuing interest pertinent to the life of the first of the Founding Fathers. Professor Henriques does splendid work in describing such important facets of George Washington's life as his relationship with Jefferson; his approach to religion; and, how he handled the topic of slavery.

Written in a conversational style from lectures (in the best and highest sense of that word) previously given by the author. I think it will inspire many to read further and in greater depth on this, the most important and complete person in U.S. history.

I've read many a book about George Washington--but this book presents the information in such a clear unambiguous delightful style. Each chapter is an entirely new rendition of this fascinating man's life--my favorite was the description of Washington's death. I must admit that I thought I knew quite a lot of the events that took place as Washington was dying---and as a physician myself, I had always thought that if only the senior physicians had allowed a tracheostomy to be performed, Washington would have survived. Professor Henriques does an admirable job disavowing me of that preconceived notion--- I won't tell all and you'll have to read the book to find out why George Washington was doomed because of the current treatment (at the time) of this fulminant bacterial infection. All told, just a wonderful book--can't wait for another by this author!!!!