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From National Book Award winner Ron Chernow, a landmark biography of George Washington.
In Washington: A Life celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of
the father of our nation. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one-volume life of Washington, this crisply
paced narrative carries the reader through his troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War,
his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional
Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president.
Despite the reverence his
name inspires, Washington remains a lifeless waxwork for many Americans, worthy but dull. A laconic man of
granite self-control, he often arouses more respect than affection. In this groundbreaking work, based on massive
research, Chernow dashes forever the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man. A strapping six feet, Washington was
a celebrated horseman, elegant dancer, and tireless hunter, with a fiercely guarded emotional life. Chernow brings
to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods. Probing his private life, he explores his
fraught relationship with his crusty mother, his youthful infatuation with the married Sally Fairfax, and his often
conflicted feelings toward his adopted children and grandchildren. He also provides a lavishly detailed portrait of his
marriage to Martha and his complex behavior as a slave master.
At the same time, Washington
is an astute and surprising portrait of a canny political genius who knew how to inspire people. Not only did
Washington gather around himself the foremost figures of the age, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,
John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, but he also brilliantly orchestrated their actions to shape the new federal
government, define the separation of powers, and establish the office of the presidency.
In this unique
biography, Ron Chernow takes us on a page-turning journey through all the formative events of America's founding.
With a dramatic sweep worthy of its giant subject, Washington is a magisterial work from one of our most elegant
storytellers.
About the Author
Ron Chernow is the prize-winning author of five previous books. His first, The House of Morgan, won the National Book Award. His two most recent books, Alexander Hamilton and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, were both nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography.
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Product Details
- 42 Hours / Presented on 33 Compact Discs
Publisher: Penguin Audio; Unabridged Edition (October 5, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0142428337
ISBN-13: 978-0142428337
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