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John E. Ferling
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The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon Paperback – Bargain Price, May 11, 2010

by John Ferling (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 181 ratings
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Historian John Ferling has been called a "national resource," and his latest book again demonstrates his unsurpassed insight into the Founding Fathers, giving us George Washington as we have never seen him before.
Our first president has long been viewed as a hero who rose above politics. The Ascent of George Washington peers behind that image?one carefully burnished by Washington himself?to reveal a leader who was not only not above politics, but a master manipulator adept in the arts of persuasion, leverage, and deniability. Washington deftly screened burning ambition behind an image of republican virtue?but that image made him just the leader that an overmatched army and a shaky young nation desperately needed.
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  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloomsbury Press
  4. Publication date
    May 11, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.09 x 1.33 x 9.24 inches
  6. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Sensing that such biographers as James Flexner and Joseph Ellis have accepted the above-politics thesis, Ferling inspects the evidence of Washington’s political activities…while illustrating the substance behind Washington’s image as the indispensable man, Ferling pointedly grounds that image in the political soil from which it sprang.” –Booklist

“Ferling has done his research and offers some new insights…recommended for readers interested in taking a fresh look at Washington's political life” –Library Journal

“Never questioning Washington’s greatness, Ferling insists that seeing him as an artful self-promoter and master politician only enhances his reputation as an adept leader who knew exactly what he was doing…a fresh take on a monumental American.” –Kirkus

“Once in a while a book comes along to remind us that history has no gods, that the past is less fossil than textbooks suggest and America more vibrant than a mere list of principles. John Ferling's Ascent of George Washington is just such a book: a fresh, clear-eyed portrait of the full-blooded political animal that was George Washington…In John Ferling’s eminently readable, landmark interpretation, we cannot help but marvel at the man.” –Marie Arana, Washington Post

“The Washington who emerges from the nearly four hundred pages of well-crafted narrative is a man who became first in the hearts of his countrymen by looking out for Number One… Washington was a complex personality, as John Ferling’s study makes clear, and it provides readers with a fuller portrait of the figure who was the First of Men of his time.”––Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

About the Author

John Ferling is Professor Emeritus of History at the State University of West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary history, he has appeared in many documentaries and has written numerous books, including Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War for Independence, Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, The First of Men: A Life of George Washington, Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, and Jefferson in the American Revolution, and the award-winning A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005DI92HG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Press; Reprint edition (May 11, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.09 x 1.33 x 9.24 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 181 ratings

About the author

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John E. Ferling

John E. Ferling

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John Ferling is a leading authority on late 18th and early 19th century American history. He is the author of many books, including Independence, The Ascent of George Washington, Almost a Miracle, Setting the World Ablaze, and A Leap in the Dark. To learn more, please visit his website: www.johnferling.com.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
181 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the information in the book insightful, well-presented, and interesting. They describe the content as a great read with well-written and no-frills writing. Readers also appreciate the word choice and learn some interesting terms.

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Information qualityEnlightened contentReadabilityWriting quality
24 customers mention "Information quality"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the information quality of the book very insightful, informative, and well-presented. They say it contains a wealth of information and history of our country. Readers also mention the book is well-balanced.

"...The book is well written and well documented. I highly recommend this to any one." Read more

"...The production was very well done, and Dietz delivers a solid, no-frills reading fitting the non-fiction topic...." Read more

"...saint but a person with incredible ambition and highly developed manipulative and survival skills...." Read more

"...bias show up in my rating since the book was well written and documented throughout...." Read more

23 customers mention "Enlightened content"20 positive3 negative

Customers find the content interesting, enlightening, and thought-provoking. They say it's a good historical read that sheds new light on our country's history.

"...The Ascent of George Washington is an interesting book for the veteran Washington reader, and I recommend it to anyone who fits that category and is..." Read more

"...It is thought-provoking but it is also a political diatribe that reflects another old saying: "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."..." Read more

"...It is well written and interesting and offers a different perspective." Read more

"...Very interesting and refreshing portrayal of the Father of the Nation." Read more

21 customers mention "Readability"21 positive0 negative

Customers find the book great, excellent, and interesting. They say it's well-researched and clear that George is a man.

"John Ferling has produced a capable, if unremarkable biography of George Washington...." Read more

"...The book was an enjoyable read even it I did not like to have some of my 1950s era of patriotic notions about our Founding Fathers somewhat..." Read more

"...At the end, it was clear that he was a man, a very great man, but not a god." Read more

"...This is a good read." Read more

16 customers mention "Writing quality"13 positive3 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book well-written, easy to read, and solid. They also appreciate the word choice and learn some interesting terms.

"...The book is well written and well documented. I highly recommend this to any one." Read more

"...The production was very well done, and Dietz delivers a solid, no-frills reading fitting the non-fiction topic...." Read more

"I might have let my bias show up in my rating since the book was well written and documented throughout...." Read more

"...It is well written and interesting and offers a different perspective." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

wws2
5.0 out of 5 stars A different perspective of our 1st. President
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2013
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I have read a number of books written about the founding fathers and this was a good as any of them. If you have an idea those people were saints this give you a different perspective. Washington was the right man at the right place at the right time. He allowed the actions of others to move the nation forward to win independence, then took credit for it. The book is well written and well documented. I highly recommend this to any one.
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Gary Hoggatt
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting angle for the veteran Washington reader
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2013
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George Washington has been the subject of countless books, from multi-volume biographies to books that focus in on a single aspect of his life. John Ferling's 2009 The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon falls into the later camp, looking at the father of our country through the lens of his political career. Overall, it's an interesting book with a fresh - if often cynical - perspective, though I wouldn't recommend it as anyone's first venture into reading about Washington.

From Washington's early days trying to rise the ranks in Virginia, to his French and Indian War service, his colonial Virginia political career, to leading the Continental Army, to his time as the first President, Ferling depicts Washington as constantly looking for advantage and political advancement, while putting a noble, self-sacrificing face on his actions.

For a fan of Washington like myself it can be a bit trying to hear Ferling keep attempting to tear him down, but Ferling does a solid job of establishing his interpretation, and it is interesting to see episodes other biographers gloss over or don't mention at all, or commonly discussed events from another angle. While Ferling didn't dim my admiration for Washington, I do have a more well-rounded view, and I wouldn't say that Ferling ventures into "hacket job" territory at any point.

The main area where I'd suggest Ferling is overly hard on Washington is slavery. Ferling is pretty negative about Washington on that front, but having read Henry Wiencek's excellent An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America I'd suggest that Ferling doesn't give Washington enough credit for his growth on this issue over his life or for the environment he was in.

I would not recommend this book for the Washington novice. It helps to have read at least one general biography of the man to have a baseline for Ferling's alternate view, and since Ferling sometimes skims over less political aspects of Washington's life one might be a bit lost without other background. Reading something along the lines of Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner, His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis, or Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow would be wise before tackling The Ascent of George Washington. Reading Ferling first might also sour you on Washington unnecessarily.

I listened to Tantor Audio's 2009 production of the book, narrated by Norman Dietz. The production was very well done, and Dietz delivers a solid, no-frills reading fitting the non-fiction topic. The unabridged production runs approximately 17.5 hours.

The Ascent of George Washington is an interesting book for the veteran Washington reader, and I recommend it to anyone who fits that category and is looking for a different take on the first president's life. This was my second Ferling book, following Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 which didn't impress me. The Ascent of George Washington, however, was good enough that I was glad to have given Ferling another chance and expect to read more from him in the future.
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Erich Weyant
5.0 out of 5 stars A clear-eyed overview of Washington and his rise to power
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2022
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I know that this book is controversial with some, but for me it was absolutely essential.

I’ve often bounced hard off of Washington. I loved Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, but I found his volume on Washington an absolute slog. I’m doing a read-through of American History and Washington has obviously come up on several occasions, but I tended to find most discussion of him interminable, with the exception of this biography and Bob Drury’s “Valley Forge.”

This was the first biography that I enjoyed because it didn’t treat him as a plaster saint, but as a very ambitious man who knew how to work the levers of power to get what he wanted. This is absolute anathema to some, but it’s the only way I could appreciate his contributions. He isn’t remarkable because he was a superhero, impervious to the ambitions of mortal men, but because he keenly felt those ambitions and yet found it in himself to hold back because when he felt it was in the best interests of the nation. He is all the more remarkable for his humanity, not in spite of it.
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Kim Burdick
4.0 out of 5 stars The Ascent of George Washington
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2013
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In "The Ascent of George Washington" John Ferling traces the story of Washington's political maneuverings. The book is interesting and engaging but readers may or may not agree with Ferling's thesis.

After reading many, many books about George Washington and the American Revolution, I have come to the conclusion that some of the tritest old-fashioned sayings make a lot of sense. In particular those old saws, "The truth lies somewhere in the middle," and "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are," can be applied to this book.

The third section of this book contains the freshest and newest ideas. In Part Three, Ferling discusses the beginnings of American political parties. Echoing the passion of the anti-British revolts of the 1760s and early 1770's, Democratic-Republican Societies wildly rattled the cage of the new republic. It is truly no wonder George Washington was content to serve for only two terms.

While laying the groundwork for the turmoil of modern politics, the Democratic-Republicans correctly sensed another war was on the horizon. The groundwork that led to Mr. Madison's War, the War of 1812, is nicely explained here.

"Ascent" should not be the first book you read about George Washington. It is thought-provoking but it is also a political diatribe that reflects another old saying: "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Historiographers and those who believe that history repeats itself will have a great time with this book.

Kim Burdick
Stanton, Delaware
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Top reviews from other countries

Don Wettlaufer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2013
Verified Purchase
very interesting book - I learned lots not only about Washington himself, but the environment he worked in as commander of the continental army and the conditions the soldiers had to endure during the war.
I also noted the rather shabby treatment the enlisted men got from Congress after the war compared to the officers some of whom apparently behaved in very self-serving ways to make sure they got good treatment.
All in all, good book that fits in well with other books on other founding fathers such as John Adams.
Gives one a good picture of that period in history.
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