Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #623483 in Books
• Published on: 1972-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 554 pages

Customer Reviews

A majesterial biography
The last volume of Flexner's 4-volume biography of Washington. The complete set is a wonder. You'll feel you've watched a man struggle with ambition, pride, betrayls and extreme disappointments...and then serve his country magnificently, setting precedents for its future that time has proved almost unfailingly correct. It's not an exaggeration to say that the country's fate rested on his shoulders. When unanimously elected by Congress, he accepted the position of Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. This was before that army existed: he was THE symbol of the cause (and willing to expose himself to British retribution to further it). He could have become king (not so much in title as through use of the powers granted the president) but he consistently refused to abuse the office's powers, leadng to restraint in later presidents (no one before Roosevelt was willing to run for more terms than Washington served, for example). By my count, he single-handedly changed the course of history 5 times through his actions (in his youth, not always deliberately: he unwittingly started the French and Indian War!). At the end of this volume, if you've read the previous three, his death will be wrenching. It a great telling of a great man's life (his "final" act was in his will to free his slaves - of all the Founders, including Jefferson, only Washington took a step so revolutionary - and so true to his ideals)

GW: In the American Revolution (1775-1783)
This is volume #2 of the four volume masterpiece written by James Thomas Flexner on the life of George Washington. As we have read previously, George Washington was content living a life at Mount Vernon with his wife and family, but the tides are turning in the life of George Washington, bringing him to the forefront of leadership... albeit woefully prepared.

Now, in the skillfully written volume, we see the wartime deeds and the soul searching that Washington goes through. A man thrust from the bosom of his home and hearth, a civilian who is now to lead the Continental Army for the American Revolution. An army that is hardly an army... more like a patchwork of the American cross section of life and skills. No formal training, little leadship, under equiped was the army Washington was to have.

Washington at heart loved his army as they loved him is very evident. We see Washington's mood swings here, his wild furious temper... like an untamed bull, his mistakes, indiscretions,
and a great deal of personal misery... we now have the man of Washington revealed. Washington's path was that of a mortal man, not that of an Icon, a man all-to-human, frought with inadequacy. Washington has to reach down deep to keep his dream alive and instill it in the men he has to lead.

And to lead he did... being out-generaled by far superior forces was the norm for Washington, but nevertheless, always on the lookout for that shread of hope to call victory. Flexner writes of Washington's failures and the anguish of what Washington felt as the battles turned against him... but we also see the resourseful resolve coming to light, learning though trial and error... becoming the master of the American Revolution and the Continental Army.

But Washington never happier to be at home with his wife Martha is not forgotten either. Martha seemed to know what was really troubling Washington.

I found this volume much more interesting and with an impeccable eye for detail. Written in an engrossing and an engaging style that keeps you reading to find out the tidbits left out in your school's history books.

This is a solid and well documented work.

The final volume
This is part four of a four-volume series of George Washington's life and this final installment is the strongest book of all. Flexner's narrative takes the reader up to Washington's last breath and his description of his death is particularly interesting. Despite the fact that there is a plethora of interesting material on Washington's ilness and death, this book brings out facts hitherto unknown. It is reliable and accurate, but one sometimes yearns for a more enlightened and exciting presentation of the earlier years. This is the personification of how history is usually taught: in a manner not designed to capture the reader or the student.

One strong point is that Flexner successfully presents a balanced portrait of Washington. Any bias from the author is thankfully masked from the reader. When Washington deserves criticism or censure, the author soberly dispenses it. Praise and plaudits are similarly given. If you are deeply interested in Washington's early years, this is an adequate and trustworthy source. But if you are merely dabbling in Washington and prefer a swifter narrative, then this is not a recommended selection.