Customer Reviews

Sterling Point Books: George Washington: Frontier Colonel

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This biography takes the reader from George Washington's birth past the French and Indian War when he takes his place as a legislator in the Virginia House of Burgesses. It is a quiet, interesting biography I was thrilled to read. I get a sense of George Washington as a man and a person, not just as a figurehead. George had no experience soldiering or as a leader when he became a colonel in the British Colonial Army. He has status and rank but that is about it. He fought the French and made the first move though provoked by the French who were spying on his troops. George was not the best lover in the world. He found it difficult to court and retain eligible girls for marriage. He was lucky in finding Martha who it seems suited him though it was originally a marriage of convienince on both sides. This book really was interesting and I quite enjoyed it.

I love reading about George Washington, and visiting Mt. Vernon was one of the highlights of my life. I also tutor children from ages 9-16. I have been looking for a book on Washington for children and teens that is exciting, not too reverential, and accurate. Unfortunately, this book, while accurate, is written in the worshipful style of the 1950's. I can't see what age group this book would appeal to: it is too detailed and rather dry for elementary school children, and too simply written for teens. An admirable attempt, but a boring read.