This book is built around proving that George Washington while a person of great import and impact was not as good as most have portrayed him. The message at the soul of the book is that George Washington was a politician driven by ambition.

I'll grant that Washington was not some sort of perfect saint and no doubt he did have ambition(s). However, I felt the author overstated his case. The descriptions of his character by his peers that knew him in real life do not match the picture the author is trying to paint. George Washington was a statesman. Not a politician. I felt like this book was trying hard to make George Washington seem more like the caricature of the average modern politician. He was a man from a different age, different era, and a different world than the one we inhabit. A gentleman indeed and not merely in social position.

This was an effort to debunk the man not the myth of the man. ( )

This has so much detail! It is very long, but it takes the myth out of the man and makes him like a human being! He was not perfect! He was ambitious but tried to make it look like he wasn't. Here is my review from my other website that hasn't published yet:

Just in time for Independence Day!

It has usually been The myth versus the man. Excellent. I like this review of the book by The Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201735....

This book is long. It was 438 pages in print, and it was over 17 hours of audiobook listening, but it is so well researched and written that I heartily recommend it. The narrator was also great on the audiobook. I listened to it leading up to our time on the East Coast visiting Valley Forge and Mount Vernon. I always try to read a book about American history around 4th of July. I have read biographies on Ben Franklin, John Adams, and 1776. It was Washington's turn, having been a character in all three of those books.

Well worth the investment of time. I read a review on library thing that said "One of the rare accounts in which a political idol is not diminished by the revelation of his human imperfections. If anything, his ability comes out enhanced. Singular & thought-provoking" (Niels Peter, Library Thing). I agree.

Go to the Amazon.com page for this book, and there is an excellent video summation by the author!

A very revealing look at political background of our first President. Interesting if a bit dry. ( )

Historian John Ferling, a noted authority on the American Revolution and its aftermath, offers a new assessment of the "father of his country" in "The Ascent of George Washington." In what might be best described as a political biography, Ferling describes an aspiring leader who consistently makes decisions for both the public good and his own personal benefit, frequently at the same time.

To a great extent, this is a probable assessment. Despite the common view of Washington that he consistently served the national interest with personal disinterest, it is clear that Washington carefully cultivated himself to be selected leader in a number of different situations. Indeed, Washington's self-promotion, particularly in his military career, is a fascinating addition to his marble mystique.

Ferling presents much evidence of Washington's actions aligning to his self-interest; however, he is unclear how far to push the argument. This conflicting assessment is frequently apparent in the book, causing some dizzying acrobatic logic. For example, in writing of Washington's actions toward policy in the Western frontier, where he was a land speculator, Ferling offers this convoluted evaluation:

"It cannot be denied that the changes Washington urged would advance his personal interests. That does not mean he recommended these political changes for his own advantage. By soldiering for eight difficult years, he had demonstrated his willingness to make enormous personal sacrifices for a greater public good, and one would like to think that following his return to civilian pursuits as a planter and businessman, nothing superseded the national interest in Washington's mind. Before the war, however, Washington had often used his power and influence in the House of Burgesses for his own ends, and it would be more creditable had he, on occasion, stood for something after 1783 that would have been to his detriment. Most people, including those in public life, are self-serving. It goes against human nature not to be. Washington was still vigorous when he returned home from the war. He may not have anticipated a long life, but he knew that he might live another quarter century or more. That possibility made it especially important that he be able to sell or lease his western lands, successfully market what was produced at Mount Vernon and on his dower lands, and realize the full face value of all money owed him. Every reform he advocated would enhance the likelihood that he would achieve these ends, and in the near-term. It is a habit of the human condition to see an affinity between one's personal interests and the greater general good, and habit, too, to exaggerate the perils that accompany a course that is not in one's interests. Washington was no exception to this rule."

To be sure, good scholarship, especially in historical biography, requires an ability to see nuance, complexity, and even contradiction in someone's life. However, this hemming and hawing offers more insight into Ferling's mind that into Washington's. Perhaps this is the most extreme occasion in the book, but unfortunately it recurs far too often, which at times causes the account to feel indecisive and tedious.

There are good observations here. Of particular note is the care that Ferling gives to describe how Washington's approach to politics and political demeanor changed as he grew older. It is clear that Ferling believes Washington was tired and a bit ambivalent toward politics in his second term as president, due mostly to his age, rather than to maturity.

In the end, this look at America's first president is a mixed bag, combining some excellent scholarship and insight into Washington's character with too many instances of dry, boring, or even confused prose. Students of Washington may find value here; others are unlikely to finish the book. ( )

According to this biography, George Washington was neither disinterested, nonpartisan, nor for that matter any great military strategist. He was, however, a born administrator & a political animal of genius. Above even these gifts was his extraordinary skill at constructing, staging, & manipulating the public perception of his persona.

What remains, then, of Washington's "greatness" after reading this book? His character - if not disinterested, then hotly devoted to the future & welfare of the new American nation. Plus the accomplishment, still much to his own credit, of consolidating the young republic. By way of a counterrevolution that only he, in semi-conspiration with his vizier Andrew Hamilton, clearly saw as necessary & desirable.

One of the rare accounts in which a political idol is not diminished by the revelation of his human imperfections. If anything, his ability comes out enhanced. Singular & thought-provoking. ( )