Today marks the 278th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. To many, Washington is the man on the dollar bill or the colonial cartoon-like figure who hip hops his way across our TV screens on some President's Day car commercial. The father of our country should be so much more than a caricature. The greatest American deserves to be known by every man, woman, and child in the country that he, more than any other single individual, is responsible for creating.
To that end, I highly recommend and excellent biography by Washington scholar Joseph J. Ellis entitled, His Excellency: George Washington. This is not a stuffy or academic work; at 275 pages it is an easy read. It is not, however, a mere recitation of facts concerning Washington's life. This book examines not only Washington the man, but also why his peers regarded him as the leading figure in the American Revolution. Ellis illustrates the fact that Washington was not a perfect "marble man," but that what made Washington truly heroic was his battle against his own imperfections and his triumph, to a large degree over them. Indeed, Ellis argues that his inner struggle prepared and guided him in his struggle to defeat the British and then govern the new-born United States. To quote Ellis, "What we might call Washington's internal muscularity is, of course, impossible to see, though . . . is was just as impressive as his marvelous physique."
If you know little about George Washington, then His Excellency: George Washington is an excellent work with which to begin your education about the man who was first in war, first in peace, and should remain first in the hearts of his countrymen. If you are familiar with George Washington, you will enjoy this work for the new insight you may well gain into America's leading man.
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