The author of seven highly acclaimed books, Joseph J. Ellis has crafted a landmark biography that brings to life in all his complexity the most imp...
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Feb 07, 2008
Nate
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In "His Excellency," Joseph Ellis has written a very readable and concise synopsis on the life of George Washington. Though more recognizable for his works "Founding Brothers" and "American Sphinx" (about Thomas Jefferson), Ellis successfully undertakes the task of illuminating probably the most important figure in American history.
Probably the most apparent burden struck by Ellis, and a theme readily illusive throughout his book, is the author's effort More...
Probably the most apparent burden struck by Ellis, and a theme readily illusive throughout his book, is the author's effort More...
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Mar 20, 2008
Jamie
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I just returned from a visit to Washington, D.C. and Mount Vernon, so I'm in a patriotic mood. This is a very readable, enjoyable biography that attempts to explain Washington's character and motivations and to describe the influences which shaped his decisions.
The book is fairly short and is written at a bird's-eye view, mostly lacking in the kind of human detail that I usually enjoy in a biography. It left me hungry for more details: I wanted to know more about his personal exper More...
The book is fairly short and is written at a bird's-eye view, mostly lacking in the kind of human detail that I usually enjoy in a biography. It left me hungry for more details: I wanted to know more about his personal exper More...
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Jan 11, 2010
First response: Ellis pontificates beyond my comfort level. I enjoy grand sentences, but this is way to much. His flourishing, over-bloated style does little to represent Washington (who, Ellis admits, was not a high intellectual.)
He definitely covers the highs and lows, but he offers an incredible amount of personal opinion and unsubstantiated analysis, and even second-guesses motives. I am glad to know about Washington's life, and to have insight about him, but I have enjoyed very More...
He definitely covers the highs and lows, but he offers an incredible amount of personal opinion and unsubstantiated analysis, and even second-guesses motives. I am glad to know about Washington's life, and to have insight about him, but I have enjoyed very More...
Feb 03, 2009
Scott
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Not only a great biography, but it was a fairly quick read, too. Great insight into a truly great man who understood his place in history, and, according to National Treasure 2, had some sweet tunnels on his property. ;)
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Dec 06, 2010
Laura
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I'm glad I read this book, but I'm glad I'm finished it too. I'm not sure if I'll read any others by this author. He interjects too much of his own opinions and spent lots of time denigrating his subject! Although I learned a lot, it was pretty dry and did not include enough flesh on the bones of history for me. No comparison to Walter Isaacson's conversational style, which I read just prior to this. Had I not, I may have enjoyed this one a whole lot more.
Now on to John Adams! May More...
Now on to John Adams! May More...
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Jan 27, 2009
Derek
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This book by Ellis, his best that I've read, is a great examination of the life of this most revered and yet most enigmatic President. Despite a dearth of personal primary sources, Ellis does a fine job looking behind the mask to see the character off Washington. A man of great passions and ambition, Washington had a keen understanding of the role of perception, and carefully crafted the regal public persona so remarkable. As a tactician, he does not rank among the greatest military minds, nor w
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Dec 27, 2008
I listened to Ellis' excellent biography of George Washington on CD in my car during my commutes over a period of about a week, saturating my mind in early American lives and times. Ellis' contribution in Founding Brothers was to remind us that the 'founding fathers' were not a group of stodgy old men who worked in harmony. Rather, they were a shifting mass of young men with monumental egos, petty rivalries, fickle alliances, and intense hatreds. He continued in this vein with His Excellency,
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Nov 10, 2011
***Dave
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(Original review from Sep 2005)
A methodical and well-crafted biography of Washington, portraying him neither as demigod nor demagogue, but as a strong, heroic man with occasional feet of clay, someone who well deserves to be considered the Hero of the Revolutionary War and the Father of His Country, but who was also possessed of both a temper and an aggrieved sense of slights from others, as well as a fear of ridicule and poor reputation that drove him as much as any noble commitment t More...
A methodical and well-crafted biography of Washington, portraying him neither as demigod nor demagogue, but as a strong, heroic man with occasional feet of clay, someone who well deserves to be considered the Hero of the Revolutionary War and the Father of His Country, but who was also possessed of both a temper and an aggrieved sense of slights from others, as well as a fear of ridicule and poor reputation that drove him as much as any noble commitment t More...
Oct 12, 2011
Jason
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I purchased this book because I was curious to learn more about the man behind the legend. Sadly, I am woefully ignorant of much of the history of my country, other than the broad overview I learned during those long-gone days I was but a youthful schoolboy. Since those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it, I thought I'd better start reading up.
I was afraid that the book would would be dry and boring, but I shouldn't have worried. Author Joseph J. Ellis has produced a More...
I was afraid that the book would would be dry and boring, but I shouldn't have worried. Author Joseph J. Ellis has produced a More...
Oct 05, 2011
Joseph
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A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to read a major biography about each of the US presidents and so of course I started at the beginning with George Washington.
In HIS EXCELLECY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, Joseph Ellis mixes scholarship with admiration and ends up creating an honest but respectful picture of our nation's first president. Ellis cuts through the legend surrounding Washington and goes deeper than the surface level information to create a more robust understanding of t More...
In HIS EXCELLECY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, Joseph Ellis mixes scholarship with admiration and ends up creating an honest but respectful picture of our nation's first president. Ellis cuts through the legend surrounding Washington and goes deeper than the surface level information to create a more robust understanding of t More...
Aug 08, 2011
Michael
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I am one of the generation that faithfully quoted Henry Lee's eulogy: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen" on hearing the words George Washington. Ellis is to be commended in explaining how Washington fulfilled each of these historic achievements. He crystalizes Washington's greatness in the introduction. "It seemed to me that Benjamin Franklin was wiser; Alexander Hamilton was more brilliant; John Adams was better read; Thomas Jefferson was more i
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Aug 03, 2011
Richard
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His Excellency is less a comprehensive biography about George Washington (which has been superseded by Chernow's recent work) and more a lengthy character essay. Like most of Ellis' other works, His Excellency is fast-paced, flamboyant, and packed with irony and metaphor - all of which makes for a fun read. Ellis' major sin, in my opinion, is his tendency to draw conclusions out of mere speculation, sometimes out of bias. My greatest complaint is his assertion that Washington requested to be
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Apr 19, 2011
Brad
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Ellis does a simply marvelous job of setting out his goals at the beginning and seeing them through. It is interesting how such a pivotal figure in history can remain so distant and aloof. Yet, seemingly, not because there is any big secret to hide, or huge skeleton in the closet. I was actually only disappointed that Washington didn't seem like the kind of person I would want to have dinner with (for fun, that is) even after reading it he seemed over-serious and reserved. But this is no sho
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Aug 20, 2010
Edgar
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1. George Washington was the first military leader of a revolutionary army in history to voluntarily step down.
2. He not only guided the continental army to victory, he guided the nation in its infancy as an overwhelmingly (at least publicly) bi-partisan executive power. He was really a die-hard federalist.
3. He had an astute ability to judge any situation
4. He correctly identified that nations are inherently self-serving, hence his stance on isolationism.
5. Common sense More...
2. He not only guided the continental army to victory, he guided the nation in its infancy as an overwhelmingly (at least publicly) bi-partisan executive power. He was really a die-hard federalist.
3. He had an astute ability to judge any situation
4. He correctly identified that nations are inherently self-serving, hence his stance on isolationism.
5. Common sense More...
Aug 09, 2010
Nolan
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The basic premise of this easily read and easily understood biography of George Washington is that we have come to put him so high on a pedestal that he is as distant and cold as the marble used to create his statue. Rather than tarnish the man’s image and knock him from the pedestal, this book attempts to help us understand why he holds such a high and preeminent place in the hearts of most Americans and to reduce some of that cold marble component such that we can recognize the presence of he
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Jul 29, 2010
Mike
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This book is disgraceful. Had there been an open window on the jet I was traveling on I would have opened it and tossed this piece of revisionist garbage out of it. This is yet another book written by yet another 'termite in the pillars of history'. If you have read history then you know well that George Washington was without a doubt one of the most outstanding great men of all time. His peers, even his 'enemies' named him, readily, as a giant among giants. Virtuous, selfless, wise, benevolent
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Jul 24, 2010
Sandra
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Having just completed The Real George Washington, I thought it would be interesting to continue my study of the Founding Fathers with another book about Washington.
I have to admit I didn't get very far. I read the first few chapters and then scanned the rest of the book. The book is lacking in a number of ways.
First Ellis thinks that because he says it, it must be so. His references to primary materials is spotty at best. He is high on opinion, with little to back it More...
I have to admit I didn't get very far. I read the first few chapters and then scanned the rest of the book. The book is lacking in a number of ways.
First Ellis thinks that because he says it, it must be so. His references to primary materials is spotty at best. He is high on opinion, with little to back it More...
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May 25, 2010
Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com
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I felt the book is a fair portrayal of Washington as a human and gives the reader a new insight into the person. Mr. Ellis tries to take a man which has become a myth in his own time and deconstruct him to see what makes him tick. What did he find; Washington was a man like any of us, making his decisions based on what's good for his bank account, and putting in strategic moves for the future. We must remember that in that time people put in work to collect decades later, unlike today.
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Dec 23, 2009
Steven
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Joseph Ellis' "His Excellency: George Washington" is a well done brief biography of George Washington. Washington, surely, could be the subject of one of those massive bios, such as Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton" or "Titan" or Nasaw's "Andrew Carnegie" or Cannadine's "Mellon." On the other hand, not all biographies need to be so massive. Ellis' work is insightful, provides a sense of Washington the person, and outlines the growth of his character
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Nov 09, 2009
Jenn
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A quick and jaunty history of George Washington's life and major decisions. This is an easy-to-read, fast-paced biography by noted historian Joseph Ellis that seeks to answer basically one pressing question about America's Founding Father: was he really that good?
Ellis's answer is a qualified yes. He argues that it's almost always what Washington didn't do that made him such a great and laudable leader. His decision to leave the presidency after two terms instead of staying in office More...
Ellis's answer is a qualified yes. He argues that it's almost always what Washington didn't do that made him such a great and laudable leader. His decision to leave the presidency after two terms instead of staying in office More...
Aug 17, 2009
Addie
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"For the rest of his life, all arguments based on the principle of mutual trust devoid of mutal interest struck his as sentimental nonsense." Washington was an extremely smart man militarily, politically, and otherwise. Though uneducated, he proved that he could go far just by listening and observing. He took advice well and though sometimes unforgiving, really knew how to handle hard situations. He fought hard and thought ahead, usually making astoundingly correct predictions about wh
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Aug 30, 2011
Marvin
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Although this is a decent short biography of George Washington, it in no way is as complete as Ron Chernow's "Washington: A Life". To me there are three major deficiencies in this book. First, Ellis makes several references without explaining them. You may not get the reference if you have not read other works about Washington. (Example: Washington’s desire to retire under his own vine and fig tree). Second, early on Ellis tosses out the analysis that Washington was not a religious
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May 23, 2011
Nathan
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Joseph Ellis likes Washington. His portrait of the man presents a figure eminently in control of the situation that destiny handed him, indeed, perfectly positioned to seize that destiny and go down in history as the right man for a monumental job. That isn't to say that Ellis neglects the historical record in favor of hagiography; much of his short book is devoted to a simple retelling of fact that does very little to distinguish it from the host of other Washington biographies out there. Elli
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Apr 16, 2011
David
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A superb insight into the Father of Our Country.
Joseph Ellis wrote an excellent book that will give you a superb insight into the Father of Our Country. There can only be one man to fit those shoes and George Washington is that man. Mr. Ellis enlightens the story of Washington in an engaging, easily understanding way, that non-historians will appreciate. He doesn’t get bogged down in trivial details, but gives the reader amble details to get a thorough understanding of George Washington.
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Joseph Ellis wrote an excellent book that will give you a superb insight into the Father of Our Country. There can only be one man to fit those shoes and George Washington is that man. Mr. Ellis enlightens the story of Washington in an engaging, easily understanding way, that non-historians will appreciate. He doesn’t get bogged down in trivial details, but gives the reader amble details to get a thorough understanding of George Washington.
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Dec 20, 2008
Whereas David McCullough’s 1776 is effused with the idealism that drove the “spirit of ’76,” Ellis casts a more pragmatic light on the life of Washington, though he is no less admiring of the man. Although McCullough’s account is excellent history, his portrayal of Washington still carries some of the mythology that we attach to him, and fills you with admiration at his willingness to risk his well-off life for the sake of “the noble cause”. Ellis’ portrayal is more down to earth, as he attri
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Dec 18, 2008
Ryan
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Joseph J. Ellis's His Excellency: George Washington
Wk.34; Bk.34
This was the second Ellis book that I have read, and I don't think it will be my last. I still think Joseph J. Ellis comes off as preachy at times and there is no doubt in my mind (as I have said before) that he is a Fox News loving Republican because of his apparent love and high regard for the Federalists.
However, His Excellency was a better text than Founding Brothers, and I think that it is du More...
Oct 14, 2009
Greg
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For some time now I've wanted to find some book that helped with separating the fact from the fancy regarding the life and works of George Washington. This was a good choice I believe.
I was able to see the very human side of Washington and his very mortal mistakes. He was not a womanizer as has been rumored, though he did seem to have some feelings in his younger days for another mans wife, but nothing intimate.
Washington stated again and again that the hand of providence had spar More...
I was able to see the very human side of Washington and his very mortal mistakes. He was not a womanizer as has been rumored, though he did seem to have some feelings in his younger days for another mans wife, but nothing intimate.
Washington stated again and again that the hand of providence had spar More...
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Feb 10, 2010
Joe
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I was fairly disappointed with this book. George Washington is the figure in American history who I admire the most, and I have no problem with criticism, however in this case the author's criticism was an irritant and distraction, and which only made me dislike the author, not the subject. His writing style was also inappropriate for a historical biography, reading more like a magazine article or newspaper editorial. However, he did a good job of researching and presenting the facts, only he
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Feb 04, 2012
Andrew T
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Joseph J Ellis is a very highly reputed non-fiction historical author so I may be holding him to a higher standard than I would others. But George Washington is too important of a figure to be treated lightly and not given his just dues. It has become trendy among historians to downplay his role in the founding of this country and to overemphasize his weaknesses without taking proper note of his strengths and what could be called his "quiet" and unifying style of leadership.
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Oct 30, 2011
Steve
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Overall, I think “His Excellency” is a very sharp and concise biography of George Washington. I really enjoy Ellis’s writing style, with his long, elaborate, epic-sounding sentences. Throughout this biography, I learned a lot about George Washington’s own thought process, not only during the Revolution but also during his quasi-retirement after the war and subsequent return to the public eye as the first U.S. president. It was a very difficult book to put down, particularly during Ellis’s rec
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