David A. ClaryCritiques

Clary begins the book by giving some background about the situation in North America regarding French and English settlers and the various native tribes, setting the scene for the events to follow. He describes some of the competition between the English colonies in America. He also summarizes George Washington's early life. The meat of the book deals with the events of the 1750's, leading up to and encompassing the French and Indian War. Washington does not come off particularly well in much of what happened. He is ambitious, arrogant, defensive, sometimes whiny, and occasionally insubordinate. However, his superiors, notably Dinwiddie, should have known better than to put such a completely inexperienced and untrained young man like Washington in a position of leadership. The book ends with a discussion of the lessons Washington learned during these years when he grew up into manhood, and how these events influenced his later more famous service during the Revolutionary War. There is much more detail about what led up to the war than in anything I have previously read, so what actually happened and why makes more sense to me now.

The writing is clear and easy to read. It is also well researched, with lots of notes and a bibliography. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in early American history.

Reprint from the Western Historical Quarterly Vol. III No. 1 Jan 1972

- I love this book...a wonderful account of Washington and Lafayette
- Tremendous story of Lafayette role during the French revolution, his long love affair with the U.S and pain felt by G.W. when Lafayette was jailed
- Lafayette gained hero status in both France and the U.S.
- Book provides superb research/analysis on how Lafayette actions were critical to bring France on-board with the U.S.
- Lafayette near idolization of Washington resulted in the two developing a loving and trusting relationship
- Story is very emotional throughout the book