Washington: A Life (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

There is general consensus about this book: it is the magisterial biography of GW, meticulously researched and beautifully written. It is a great bargain because of its length but simultaneously a large commitment, perhaps just south of 400,000 words or four sizeable volumes. Everyone is agreed that it humanizes Washington. This is a fair and balanced biography, not hagiography or legend/fantasy. Parson Weems’s cherry tree story is debunked; the ‘wooden’ teeth story is corrected and we learn about the real challenges of our first president who was elected unanimously but still suffered the slings and arrows of the ‘factions’ he deplored. We learn as much about his private life as the evidence will permit and we learn a great deal about his psychology, his interpersonal skills and the reasons for his success in dealing with leaders foreign and domestic (and traitors, though, curiously, we learn very little about Hamilton’s fateful duel, which is simply mentioned in passing). We also learn a great deal about his finances, which are reminiscent of Churchill’s in their ‘fast and looseness’. The most encouraging thing is perhaps the fact that the book has drawn some 9,000 reviews on Amazon. That indicates a very large and still dedicated readership, prepared to read a very long book in an age of sound bites, film clips and ‘history’ drawn predominantly from social media. Bottom line: a must-read. Also, great food for thought—is it simply an accident that our greatest presidents (Lincoln, Truman, Washington) were not college graduates?

In his 2010 Washington: A Life, historian Ron Chernow became the latest author to write the authoritative single-volume biography of George Washington. It's certainly an impressive work, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and weighing in at a hefty 948 pages or 42 hours on audio. Does this massive tome live up to all of this and bring something new to those who've read up on Washington? Yes, yes, it does. Much like Joseph J. Ellis' 2004 His Excellency: George Washington, the cornerstone of Chernow's approach is the recent (in historical perspective) Papers of George Washington Project at the University of Virginia. Using these papers, modern authors are able to dig into Washington's inner thoughts in a way that previous biographers like James Thomas Flexner, whose 1974 single volume biography Washington: The Indispensable Man was a previous champion of the single volume Washington bio genre, could not. But while Ellis settles for a mere 352 pages, Chernow goes to the limits of what a single volume can hold in nearly tripling that total. As a result, Chernow delves very deeply into Washington's life and thoughts, and covers both the man and his times as extensively as is likely possible between the confines of two covers. As one might expect between the now available original sources and the page count, Chernow covers Washington's life in great detail. Both by time frame - early life, French and Indian War, pre-Revolution, Revolution, private life between generalship and the presidency, presidency, and retirement - and subject - military, political, personal, economic, slavery - Chernow covers the man as well as many books focused on any single one of those subjects. I've read a lot on Washington and his times, and Chernow managed to illuminate each of those periods and subjects for me in some way even with my solid background. There are two main themes that Chernow uses to good effect. He focuses on Washington's relationships and his finances to get to his inner self. There are a large cast of secondary characters in this biography, and Chernow does an excellent job of getting the reader to know them on their own and in the context of their relationship with Washington. The major personages given this treatment are Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton (not surprising, since Chernow previously wrote a massive 2004 biography of him, which is now high on my to-read list), the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, John Adams, Sally Fairfax, and Washington's step-children and step-grandchildren. Chernow clearly demonstrates the impact Washington had on each of these people, and their impact on him. Chernow's focus on Washington's finances is another interesting approach. By following the old adage to follow the money, the reader gets a real sense of Washington's situation. His efforts to turn a profit on Mt. Vernon, the financial weight of slavery, his debt, the true costs of the land rich but cash poor Washington serving as Commander in Chief without pay, the costs of entertaining the multitudes who made the pilgrimage to Mt. Vernon, constant dental bills, and most importantly the devastating effects of his prolonged absences on his business interests, all combine to shine a light on a less glamorous but vital part of Washington's life. This last is especially vital, as in seeing how much Mt. Vernon suffered every time he was off serving his country, the reader gets a much better understanding of Washington's love of his country and his sense of public service. The period of Washington's life that Chernow expanded the most for me was his second term as president. A lot of attention is usually placed on the first term and the crucial precedents set then. While Chernow does indeed cover that well, the beginning of rough and tumble politics in his second term is fascinating, and seeing the increasingly fractious country begin to consider even Washington a fair game for political sniping is a major turning point in American politics. All of this effort - focusing on relationship and finances - does an amazing job of humanizing a man who often seems more monument than someone who actually lived. Chernow lets the reader really get to know Washington, both in his impressive patriotic context but also in the personal and sometimes flawed intimate details of so large a life as well. Chernow doesn't try to explain away the imperfections, either, instead letting them stand as equally valid parts of the man who often was indeed as great as he's been made out to be. I listened to Penguin Audio's 2010 production of the book, narrated by Scott Brick. The production was very well done, Brick delivers a powerful performance, giving the reading weight while still keeping a brisk pace, a necessity given the length of the book. The unabridged production runs approximately 42 hours. I highly recommend Chernow's Washington: A Life, even to those well-read on the man and his times. Chernow does a great job of providing new angles and insights, and it's the most complete picture of the Father of Our Country I've yet read. It's more of an investment in time than slimmer volumes, but it's well worth it. As mentioned previously, Chernow's biography of Hamilton is now high on my list and I plan to read that soon.

"Washington - A Life" by Ron Chernow is a Pulitzer prize winner. It's very interesting and informative, and long, very long. 817 pages. I felt it was certainly worth the investment in time, but I also felt it easily could have been pared by at least 100 pages. More on that later. Fortunately, Chernow's writing is very relaxed and extremely readable, laced with well placed anecdotes and excellent analysis. Coming into this book, I knew very little about our first President besides some 4th grade history instruction and a number of visits to nearby Mount Vernon. Not much time was spent on GW's early years, and very soon we learn of George's adventures as a very young officer in the militia, teamed with England in the French and Indian War. As revolution began to simmer in the colonies, Washington's role was primarily military, and the events that unfolded during those years dealing with the Declaration and Constitution were mainly left to others. Though Washington attended the initial Congressional sessions and expressed his viewpoints, he was never a confident orator and his lack of education led many of his founding brothers to pay him less attention. So Chernow's focus during those years deals more with the eight years (yes, EIGHT years) that he led his rag tag army against the British; in the background we are given snippets of events in Philadelphia. And maybe rag-tag is too kind a descriptor. This was an army that was not only poorly clothed but ill-fed as well. Often local farmers sold their produce and livestock to the better financed British. Then there was the issue of many American troops returning to their families every December 31 as annual commitments expired. Washington's "army" would shrink to a few thousand. Washington lost a number of battles - he was not surrounded by an experienced military-educated team of officers and staff, but he kept the army together. Eventually the Brits made the Big Mistake at Yorktown, and with the very timely help of the French, the Revolutionary War was over. My major disappointment with this portion of the book was that Chernow elected not to use maps. There were several battles described in some detail which would have been much easier to visualize with a single map. Five years later Washington was our first President. He was unopposed, and his intention was to serve one term, perhaps less if possible. He yearned to retire to Mt. Vernon but did not have that opportunity for another eight years. There were two interesting learnings for me in this section of the book. The first is that Washington as President was now in a position to set precedent since not every detail of governing was clearly defined in the founding documents. Many of those issues dealt with the specific duties o the Executive and Legislative branches. The second was the birth o political parties, each with different viewpoints on the kind of country America was to become. For example, while Washington (and Hamilton) believed in a strong executive role, others felt it would be too easy for the United States to morph into a monarchy-like government too reminiscent of the British royatly from whom we had just separated.. This section of the book made clear that while many of our forefathers may have been "founding brothers" they did not always get along all that well and at various points in our early history, relationships broke off and were never repaired. It is interesting to see so many parallels with governing the US in 2015. In addition to the War years and the first Presidency years, the book covers a lot of other ground central to Washington's life. All of it is very important and I would not want any of the subjects deleted. But I think most could have been abbreviated. These include the ongoing changes at Mount Vernon over the years from crop selection to building additions to draperies, the relationship with George's mother, his dental problems, all of the portraits he sat for, slavery, George's eye for the ladies, and his delightful relationship with Lafayette. The material dealing with slavery alone could have yielded a separate book. As a matter of fact, I think a book dealing with the issue of slavery and American presidents from Washington to Lincoln could be a winner. Nevertheless, five stars all the way. Highly recommended.

I've just finished "Washington, a life". Ron Chernow presents a vivid image of the former commander in chief/President. Washington, much like the Great Abraham Lincoln, was a man who could adapt and evolve into something better and different. For instance, even abusive to a certain extend towards his slaves, he did questionned his views and method; see, analyse, understand and finally act upon his reflexions in his will about the cruelty of the institution of slavery, freeing all his personal slaves. However,one of the most interesting aspect of this tremendous work is the relation between Federalist and Republicans, and most especially the ideologic duel between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. That angle alone is worth you time and reading. I've read books about John Adams and Washington, and let me tell you that Thomas Jefferson doesn't look to good... In conclusion, "Washington; a life: is about one the finest biography that you can lay your eyes upon, and I could not recommend it enough.

El autor recolecta distintas fuentes y las consolida en una muy bien buena biografía. Cubre todos los aspectos de la vida de Washington.

Washington suele ser tratado casi como un semi-dios que apareció de la nada, luchó 8 años, presidió el país otros 8 y murió. Nada más lejos de la realidad. En este libro se habla de su juventod y su familia y como todo ello derivó luego en su (escondida) ambición. Todo fundamentado con centenares de cartas y referencias pero no por ello menos ameno de leer. Echo en falta referencias más detalladas a otras personas (por ejemplo: se habla de Jefferson y su inutilidad con las milicias de Virginia y cuando quieres darte cuenta está en Francia).

Ottima biografia che finalmente non teme di narrare anche le ombre di un uomo si grande ma anche decisamente imperfetto. Ron Chernow come sempre ha uno stile narrativo molto fluido che lo fa sembrare un romanzo e non una noiosa biografia storica.

For a figure as ubiquitous and recognizable as George Washington, one may not initially feel the sufficient curiosity to read a 900 page biography of the Father of the Nation, however, such indifference would cause one to miss out on a truly scholarly treat. At 900 pages, Chernow stays on message and sticks to the point pretty much throughout, giving a complete portrait of the first President. All of Washington's life is covered, including family members, which reveals the crucial detail that Washington men had traditionally short life expectancy, his service in the French-Indian War, his early political career in the Virginia House of Burgesses, his leadership of the Continental Army, his seemingly reluctant Presidency, and finally, his long awaited but comparatively brief retirement. What the reader is gifted with is not just an incredibly detailed and well researched study of Washington, but also a first rate account of the American Revolution. Having read other books on this subject, most of which were by Joseph J Ellis, it can certainly be said that this is additionally an informative study of the American Revolution. Chernow provides a wholey objective and de-mythologized study of Washington, however, he does answer key questions as to why Washington attained such an apotheosis in both life and death, he led a ragtag, unprofessional army to a seemingly impossible victory against the greatest power of the day, he resigned his commission and threw away any pretensions of power returning to public service only through popular demand, and he exercised the office of the Presidency in a noble, non-partisan manner, which shaped the Presidency into the office that it is today. Washington was often called the American Cincinattus, and this biography clearly shows why, as Washington is frequently portrayed as a reluctant participant in the public square, reluctantly presiding over the Constitutional Convention and serving two terms as President. The main glitch on Washington's record, slavery, is shown largely in unfavorable light, presenting Washington as a half-hearted, would be abolitionist, full of empty rhetoric. Even toward the end of his life, he remained vigilant against escaped slaves, however, he did free his slaves in his will, something no other slave holding Founding Father did. A frequently recurring detail is Washington's teeth (or lack of) and his makeshift supply of dentures (no they were not wooden, as popular mythology would have us believe) and how his public speaking, often breathy and rather quiet, was not quite as heroic and imposing as the popular imagination would have us believe. Within this volume, Chernow goes against the somewhat fashionable intellectual tradition of portraying Washington as a Deist. Washington clearly comes across as a sincere and practicing Christian, although not as evangelical as some would like to believe. His invocation of the almighty is frequently tinged with hints of his Masonic background, speaking of the Great Architect or the author of all, however, there is little within this study that could reasonably put him in the Deist camp. Overall, this book is strongly recommended to enthusiasts of American History, or anyone wishing a better understanding of the founding period, or a better understanding of Washington himself. A scholarly, readable, and highly informative book.