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The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac & the Race to the West
The war had been won. Now what? This was the pressing political question for the United States in 1784, and a consuming one for George Washington. He had laid down his sword and returned home to Mount Vernon after eight and a half years as commander of the Continental Army. He vowed that he had retired forever, that he would be a farmer on the bank of the Potomac River, under his own “vine and fig tree.” But history was not done with him, and he was not done with history.
Within a year, as Joel Achenbach relates in this stunning narrative, Washington saddled up and rode away on one of the most daring journeys of his rich and adventurous life: a trek across the Appalachian mountains to the frontier, where he would inspect his long-neglected western property and try to collect rent.
The Grand Idea is the story of Washington’s ambitions for the brand-new republic that he had fought so hard to create. His western journey culminates in a breathtaking scheme: Washington, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, will transform the Potomac River into a commercial artery that will link the new West to the old East. Worried that the newborn country was so fragmented that it might literally split into two separate and rival nations, he uses the skills he learned as a young backwoods surveyor to come up with his river plan. The future of the Union, Washington believes, depends on the Potomac route to the West, which will bind the country to one enterprise.
Achenbach’s sympathetic and wry portrait of General Washington is not the stiff figure of official portraits, but that of a bold man who plunges into uncharted forest and sleeps in a downpour with only his cloak for shelter. He is an inventor, entrepreneur, and land speculator. He loves the West. This Washington is someone who understands that the fledgling republic clinging to the Atlantic seaboard will become a great and booming nation.
Achenbach tracks Washington’s river plan from the choosing of the site for the national capital, which led to his being elected as the first president, to its link, decades after his death, to various grandiose plans for a canal that would run hundreds of miles. Ultimately the dream of a Potomac route to the West is abandoned. The nation splits not East and West but North and South, and the river becomes a boundary between warring sides in the Civil War.
Like such classics as Undaunted Courage and Founding Brothers, Achenbach’s The Grand Idea is a large narrative of a great man and his grand plan that captures the uncertainties and conflicts of the new country, the passions of an ambitious people, and the seemingly endless beauty of the American landscape.
Within a year, as Joel Achenbach relates in this stunning narrative, Washington saddled up and rode away on one of the most daring journeys of his rich and adventurous life: a trek across the Appalachian mountains to the frontier, where he would inspect his long-neglected western property and try to collect rent.
The Grand Idea is the story of Washington’s ambitions for the brand-new republic that he had fought so hard to create. His western journey culminates in a breathtaking scheme: Washington, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, will transform the Potomac River into a commercial artery that will link the new West to the old East. Worried that the newborn country was so fragmented that it might literally split into two separate and rival nations, he uses the skills he learned as a young backwoods surveyor to come up with his river plan. The future of the Union, Washington believes, depends on the Potomac route to the West, which will bind the country to one enterprise.
Achenbach’s sympathetic and wry portrait of General Washington is not the stiff figure of official portraits, but that of a bold man who plunges into uncharted forest and sleeps in a downpour with only his cloak for shelter. He is an inventor, entrepreneur, and land speculator. He loves the West. This Washington is someone who understands that the fledgling republic clinging to the Atlantic seaboard will become a great and booming nation.
Achenbach tracks Washington’s river plan from the choosing of the site for the national capital, which led to his being elected as the first president, to its link, decades after his death, to various grandiose plans for a canal that would run hundreds of miles. Ultimately the dream of a Potomac route to the West is abandoned. The nation splits not East and West but North and South, and the river becomes a boundary between warring sides in the Civil War.
Like such classics as Undaunted Courage and Founding Brothers, Achenbach’s The Grand Idea is a large narrative of a great man and his grand plan that captures the uncertainties and conflicts of the new country, the passions of an ambitious people, and the seemingly endless beauty of the American landscape.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
November 22, 2025
This was one of those histories that starts off promising and with the best of intentions, yet quite clearly runs its course within the first half having used up most of the plot. Here, Achenbach has taken what could be a clever microhistory of the early U.S. and that of the future First President's explorations, and—having realized that the source material is slim—instead packed the pages of his passion project with noisy filler-content and familiar details of Washington's eventful life. Using modern lingo throughout and lazily quoting other author's takes on a given fact (secondary sources that should only be found in the endnotes), Achenbach connects the new nation's political struggles, as well as some unrelated pivotal events that coincide with Washington's "grand idea" of harnessing the Potomac River's geographical niche:
Joseph Ellis sagely notes that Washington City was the perfect republican capital: barely a city at all. The emptiness carried political content. James Madison had made clear over the years that remoteness from big cities would be a crucial attribute of the seat of government. The problem with this reasoning is that it forced the inhabitants of Washington City to endure what would be a prolonged phase of camping, of trying to maintain a sense of order and decorum in an environment more suited to hunting. As the historians Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick put it, “The nation’s capital, in being removed from the scene of any of the nation’s major activities, had been stripped to an abstraction.”
In all, it’s slightly frustrating as there's some really fresh and engaging content scattered in the narrative about Washington's struggles in the elements while trekking through terra incognita in 1784. But there is a certain inevitably to the switch of discussion to slavery, Federalism, Anti-Federalism, the Farewell Address, etc., that Achenbach hearkens back to with just about every other page. Closing out with John Brown’s raid of Harpers Ferry and various Civil War battles (the Potomac of course makes an appearance in all of these; ah, the connection!), it becomes clear that Achenbach set out to make a general history of the U.S.—but was forced to add the river in acquiescence with his publishers.
Joseph Ellis sagely notes that Washington City was the perfect republican capital: barely a city at all. The emptiness carried political content. James Madison had made clear over the years that remoteness from big cities would be a crucial attribute of the seat of government. The problem with this reasoning is that it forced the inhabitants of Washington City to endure what would be a prolonged phase of camping, of trying to maintain a sense of order and decorum in an environment more suited to hunting. As the historians Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick put it, “The nation’s capital, in being removed from the scene of any of the nation’s major activities, had been stripped to an abstraction.”
In all, it’s slightly frustrating as there's some really fresh and engaging content scattered in the narrative about Washington's struggles in the elements while trekking through terra incognita in 1784. But there is a certain inevitably to the switch of discussion to slavery, Federalism, Anti-Federalism, the Farewell Address, etc., that Achenbach hearkens back to with just about every other page. Closing out with John Brown’s raid of Harpers Ferry and various Civil War battles (the Potomac of course makes an appearance in all of these; ah, the connection!), it becomes clear that Achenbach set out to make a general history of the U.S.—but was forced to add the river in acquiescence with his publishers.
April 21, 2020
I found Achenbach’s narrative compelling, but I found his methodology a bit weak. He did not source his book in a productive or easily referenced manner - his endnotes are confusingly difficult to connect with the text. The main point of book seemed to be more so about the history of the Potomac River rather than about President Washington and his relationship with this river (as the subtitle and the blurb on the back suggests). Nevertheless, I learned a lot and he tied many events across American history to this heretofore little known river.
February 4, 2017
`The Grand Idea' is a book with a very loose central theme - George Washington's vision (share by many others) of the westward expansion of the young United States, and his idea to use the Potomac River as the crucial tie that would bind the trans-Appalachian western frontier to the coastal population center. The book meanders, (much like the undisciplined and changeable river in its subtitle), all over from that center, covering much of the history of the republic from the end of The Revolution to the end of Washington's life, and then beyond.
Through the first ten chapters, starting with Washington's trip across the mountains into Western Pennsylvania in 1784, then winding leisurely through the second half of Washington's career, the book sometimes approaches closely to the theme of Washington's Potomac improvement plan, but often veers sharply away while examining other aspects of Washington's presidency and the early republic. The book's pace changes dramatically in the last five chapters, going from a lazy stream to raging rapids. Four of the final five chapters cover the history of the United States from 1800 through the Civil War, concentrating on internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and railroads, but hitting on such historical markers as the Lewis and Clark expedition and the War of 1812 as well. The final chapter details the state of the Potomac River in the twenty-first century, and serves as a "where are they now" look back on many of the internal improvements and key locations from earlier in the book.
It would be easy for me to dismiss this book as poorly focused, light-weight, popular history, yet I can't quite do that. While there is no doubt that Achenbach's book is pop history, and often light-weight and lacking focus, it is also a well written and compelling story, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The first ten chapters, covering Washington's career from the end of the Revolution to the end of his life, introduce many important but often overlooked episodes of American history, including Shays Rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Indian Wars of the 1790s, and the compromise which led to the building of Washington D.C., and includes a cast of semi-obscure, fascinating American characters who merit further study, including Albert Gallatin, Light Horse Harry Lee, and Hugh Henry Brackenridge. While it has nothing to teach scholars of the period, for the novice, it is a fun to read crash-course on the early republic, suggesting many fascinating avenues of continued study
Through the first ten chapters, starting with Washington's trip across the mountains into Western Pennsylvania in 1784, then winding leisurely through the second half of Washington's career, the book sometimes approaches closely to the theme of Washington's Potomac improvement plan, but often veers sharply away while examining other aspects of Washington's presidency and the early republic. The book's pace changes dramatically in the last five chapters, going from a lazy stream to raging rapids. Four of the final five chapters cover the history of the United States from 1800 through the Civil War, concentrating on internal improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and railroads, but hitting on such historical markers as the Lewis and Clark expedition and the War of 1812 as well. The final chapter details the state of the Potomac River in the twenty-first century, and serves as a "where are they now" look back on many of the internal improvements and key locations from earlier in the book.
It would be easy for me to dismiss this book as poorly focused, light-weight, popular history, yet I can't quite do that. While there is no doubt that Achenbach's book is pop history, and often light-weight and lacking focus, it is also a well written and compelling story, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The first ten chapters, covering Washington's career from the end of the Revolution to the end of his life, introduce many important but often overlooked episodes of American history, including Shays Rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Indian Wars of the 1790s, and the compromise which led to the building of Washington D.C., and includes a cast of semi-obscure, fascinating American characters who merit further study, including Albert Gallatin, Light Horse Harry Lee, and Hugh Henry Brackenridge. While it has nothing to teach scholars of the period, for the novice, it is a fun to read crash-course on the early republic, suggesting many fascinating avenues of continued study
December 21, 2025
More than anything, I think this book just does not have a clear idea of what it wants to be. It would likely have been more engaging if it was framed as “The Potomac in the Race to the West” instead of being about “George Washington’s Potomac” and the race to the west. Sometimes it feels as if it is trying to be a Washington biography, other times it feels as if it is a history of the river, but it never quite meshes the two effectively. The writer is also quite obnoxious in his constant attempts at using witty rhetoric to bolster Washington’s character (this comes from a huge Washington fan).
It is a good addition to American history and tells a little-known story, but it suffers from a lack of focus and less than stellar writing.
It is a good addition to American history and tells a little-known story, but it suffers from a lack of focus and less than stellar writing.
January 13, 2020
I liked many aspects of this book. Achenbach did a masterful job of providing a variety of perspectives. The narrative was engaging as well as informative. He made Washington’s personality and actions clear. He helped frame the story by providing commentary that moved in and out of the chronology. The story flowed with Joel’s ability to contrast and explain. I felt entertained as well as convinced. I thought the author made his points effectively and was able to explain how the Potomac was and wasn’t significant in settling the West.
May 15, 2021
A wonderful history of how my favorite place came to be alongside the history of our city and country. Joel includes some funny anecdotes that lighten up the mood and make for a very readable book. It’s really cool to read about places I’m deeply familiar with and how hard they were to get to back in Washington’s time! Crazy that they had ceremonies to start building the C&O Canal and the B&O “Rail Road” (which initially wasn’t even for trains!) on the very same day!
December 1, 2024
I grew up along the Potomac outside DC and enjoyed my river's history being put into light. And George Washington as a landlord and expansionist speculator deserves to be better known among the other facets of his legend. The book's pacing can be a little awkward sometimes - not every detail of his first exploration up the watershed to modern-day Pittsburgh needs to be left in - but all in all, a great local history.
December 9, 2019
George Washington was a visionary. After the Revolutionary War he set his sights on the west. He wanted to link the east with the west by making the Potomac River navigable and building a canal system to link the east coast states with the Ohio River. This is a piece of history focused on the Potomac River and all it had to offer in the 1700's and today! Well written and an enjoyable read.
May 7, 2017
Interesting and different. This is an outlook on G. Washington's life that I was not aware of. I will be looking for these places when I visit DC. I really liked the way some other eras in history are tied together. Nice perspective!
January 2, 2022
A pleasant history read that loses focus some in the last few chapters after the death of George Washington, and is depressing for the last 20 pages. The most surprising thing for me was the uncomplimentary popular view of Washington, D.C. in the early 1800s, and how slow it was to grow as a city.
November 8, 2017
A focused look at George Washington's scheme to create a navigable waterway to the West becomes a more general history of the times. Funny, succinct, and very interesting.
August 25, 2020
I always enjoy reading Ken Follett. 1993.
October 14, 2024
Probably as compelling as a book about a river can be
June 1, 2017
I really enjoyed the first half of this book but I felt that Achenbach got a bit bogged down in the second half detailing events after the death of George Washington. I wish that Achenbach had made more of a mention in the beginning that this book would detail the history of the Potomac long past Washington's time (and indeed into present day) so I might have been less surprised when I got to a chapter that was basically detailing all of the current constructions on places that were significant to Washington's life (a section I found extremely boring). Still, I like Achenbach's writing style.
February 14, 2016
Nice historical look at early westward expansion. Essentially told through the details of George Washington's letters, papers, and various historical records of his interest in expanding the country and making a killing at land speculation. The books specifically follows Washington's interest developing the land in and around the Potomac River as an important commercial route through the region.
Lots of details about Washington the Explorer. How he navigated the river, where he stayed, people he met, conditions of the surroundings such as weather, trees, roads, settlements, geography, etc. Basically showing Washington in his natural habitat instead of as President or War Hero.
Fairly easy read. Author is conversational at times and adds in his own opinions on various things throughout the book which in several cases is annoying. He is trying to make comparisons to the development then vs. how things look today. But when he decides to add in a sentence or two about "climate change" and other frivolous comments and observations might make this book less enjoyable to read. Sometimes a literary device like that is used too often and a better editor could have removed the unnecessary commentary. Minor pet peeve, but since it happens throughout the book I'm reminding myself to be prepared to be annoyed if I pick this book up to re-read.
I do think it is worth re-reading just as a history book. The author does us a real service by making the exploration and development of the Potomac more accessible. I can't imagine the amount of research that went into this book. I wasn't aware of Washington's land speculation and his use of his influence to promote investing into infrastructure such as dams, locks, bridges and canals. As much as anything this book helps explain Washington's hold over others and his sheer will and determination to accomplish things important to him.
Good history with largely a good narrative by the author. Would be a good companion book to anyone (certainly HS or college students) studying economics, history, and geography of the early Colonies and eventually the US. While I have not read all the Washington biographies, I would think this book would be helpful to those interested in our first president.
Lots of details about Washington the Explorer. How he navigated the river, where he stayed, people he met, conditions of the surroundings such as weather, trees, roads, settlements, geography, etc. Basically showing Washington in his natural habitat instead of as President or War Hero.
Fairly easy read. Author is conversational at times and adds in his own opinions on various things throughout the book which in several cases is annoying. He is trying to make comparisons to the development then vs. how things look today. But when he decides to add in a sentence or two about "climate change" and other frivolous comments and observations might make this book less enjoyable to read. Sometimes a literary device like that is used too often and a better editor could have removed the unnecessary commentary. Minor pet peeve, but since it happens throughout the book I'm reminding myself to be prepared to be annoyed if I pick this book up to re-read.
I do think it is worth re-reading just as a history book. The author does us a real service by making the exploration and development of the Potomac more accessible. I can't imagine the amount of research that went into this book. I wasn't aware of Washington's land speculation and his use of his influence to promote investing into infrastructure such as dams, locks, bridges and canals. As much as anything this book helps explain Washington's hold over others and his sheer will and determination to accomplish things important to him.
Good history with largely a good narrative by the author. Would be a good companion book to anyone (certainly HS or college students) studying economics, history, and geography of the early Colonies and eventually the US. While I have not read all the Washington biographies, I would think this book would be helpful to those interested in our first president.
July 16, 2015
George Washington's conviction that the Potomac was essential as a gateway to the Western territories, and the best way to cement the West to the rest of the Union was sincere, and dramatized the idea that in the early republic, guaranteeing a union was dicey. But he saw the division as between the settled East and the raw, unsettled and eager West, not between North and South. Achenbach presents a fine quick portrait of Washington in his glory years, showing him as a reluctant politician, but an always quick study about potential land acquisitions. But the Potomac's geology and geography did not, in the end, lend itself to navigation, even with the most ambitious canal project up to that time. The railroad obviated the economic value of the canal, which fell in desuetude until William O. Douglas started the campaign to turn the canal bed into a park.
A fine little history, focused on a corner of American history that actually illuminates much more–-Washington's status post-war, Jefferson's impractical idealism, the precariousness of the new Union, the way the tensions in America shifted in the course of barely two generations, the bubbling strife over slavery.
I will remember Washington the stiff-necked celebrity, having to endure hero-worship, the promise of the Potomac that never could be fulfilled, the immediate tensions in America between the central government and the independence of the states and the citizens, as evidenced by the Whiskey Rebellion.
A fine little history, focused on a corner of American history that actually illuminates much more–-Washington's status post-war, Jefferson's impractical idealism, the precariousness of the new Union, the way the tensions in America shifted in the course of barely two generations, the bubbling strife over slavery.
I will remember Washington the stiff-necked celebrity, having to endure hero-worship, the promise of the Potomac that never could be fulfilled, the immediate tensions in America between the central government and the independence of the states and the citizens, as evidenced by the Whiskey Rebellion.
August 15, 2013
A smooth and very readable account of Washington's failed plan to develop the Potomac into the primary trade hub for the East. I am generally leery of histories written by journalists, but Achenbach has done an admirable job condensing the story into a format which the majority of the reading public and the casual history buff will enjoy.
A great read if you want to learn about a lesser-known facet of Washington's personality and life.
A great read if you want to learn about a lesser-known facet of Washington's personality and life.
December 10, 2015
Achenbach's book follows the George Washington in the period following the War for Independence. The general feared the new nation could be divided, and believed canals could help with transportation and trade. The story may meander, but it gives a history of the other main character, the Potomac River. It gave an interesting portrait of Washington, and a glimpse of the communities which stretch from the George Washington Memorial Parkway to Cumberland, Maryland.
January 28, 2008
Awesome book by Joel Achenbach, humor writer for the Washington Post. A surprisingly sober and insightful look at an odd topic -- George Washington's relationship with the Potomac River. Achenbach channels Washington and makes him human better than any of the historians out there, and I've read quite a few.
September 15, 2008
Brings George Washington down to human proportions -- not an easy task. Joel Achenbach is so masterful at taking bigger than life topics and making them accessible to the layperson. He's one of my favorite science writers, and here he does a great job at analyzing Washington's steadfast dream to utilize the Potomac River for travel and trade.
July 24, 2016
Felt like it took me a long time to finish this one, but it was a really interesting glimpse at the history of the Potomac. I loved the author's funny asides and slighty snarky comments. It could have been dry and difficult, but instead it was a good look at an aspect of Washington's personality and life that seems to be generally disregarded in most biographies.
April 11, 2012
This is interesting portrait of Washington. It covers more of the man and his business then politics and government. Those topics get touched since so much of his life was in government It is a good example of how western expansion was on people's mode before the LA purchase and that alternatives to expansion were possible and a completely different US might have evolved.
June 16, 2016
A great introduction to Washington's early years and exploits before the Revolutionary War and his compulsion with exploring and establishing the Potomac region as the gateway to the West. Can be a bit dull when it discusses geography in parts, but overall really interesting.
November 9, 2007
Boring, but still a good book on a part of Washington's life that is often forgotten.
November 10, 2007
A great recording of George Washingtons activities between being commander of the Revolutionary war and being elected president. Great for history buffs!
June 17, 2009
Less boring than expected.
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September 9, 2011Took me a long time to get into it. But, it was an interesting look at an important time in our country's history, and it made George Washington come to life.
December 24, 2012
One of my many Founding Fathers reads. Very interesting insight into our First President's civilian life. Achenbach is an entertaining story teller.
January 11, 2015
Especially interesting if you know that part of the country at all.
July 13, 2012
Lots of good information that I never got in school (I was raised in El Paso). Very well written.
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