George Washington

by Willard Sterne Randall

Willard Sterne Randall , whose biography of Thomas Jefferson was hailed as “outstanding” by The Wall Street Journal and whose Benedict Patriot and Traitor was praised as “riveting” by The New York Times , turns his attention to the founding father of our country—George Washington. Randall tells the fascinating tale of a man who turned an impoverished childhood into a life of creative rebellion. He follows Washington’s rise to greatness as he turns from managing plantations to becoming a professional soldier and eventually joining in the fight again taxation without representation, which would spark the American Revolution.

Genres: Biography, History, Presidents, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution, Military Fiction

560 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Willard Sterne Randall is an American historian and author who specializes in biographies related to the American colonial period and the American Revolution. He teaches American history at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent, one volume, scholarly approach to the life of George Washington. Writing about Washington, and even reading about him, has its difficulties. You immediately are confronted with the myth of the man, THE founder, who seemingly overlooks the shoulder of every leader since then. You are also confronted with the idea that maybe he is not as great as he has been described, that Washington was simply a poor military leader, slave owner, who happened to be at the right place at the right time.

What this 450+ page biography attempts to do is to show why and how Washington became the singular colossus of the United States, while showing him as a complex individual. In this sense, what makes this book different is that Randall has come up with a third way to understand Washington. He shows why some of the early biographers would write of Washington in almost mythological terms, for what he achieved, both personally and professional was so unique. And Randall shows why some of the 20th century's early biographers would have an interest in de-mythologizing Washington.

What Randall pieces together, with a fine, and inviting writing style, is a study of who Washington was, in as close a portrait as possible. He does this by relying heavily on primary sources such as letters, to and from Washington. So the reader will get a fair representation of what Washington was like, put into context of his time, his family, the social expectations on him, and as much as can possibly be ascertained, what Washington's views of himself were. Washington was a very private individual. This made the type of leadership that he wanted to project: quiet, calm, confident and organized; easier to follow and to believe in. Unfortunately, Washington's private personality has made interpreting him much harder for the generations that have passed, hence why he has been mythologized into someone greater than he could be, and at times, debunked by critical scholars. Randall simply, and effectively writes of a man, above his peers, of his time.

This book was written in 1997. Since 1969, the University of Virginia has been editing Washington's papers. As of 2008, most of Washington's post Revolutionary papers, including his two terms as President, have not been edited. Because Randall's book relies heavily on primary sources, the reader will be able to tell a marked difference in the quality of the sections dealing with Washington's early adult hood and as a General, than his later life. So in many ways, this is half a book, a great detailed, one volume account of Washington's early life. But because the biographical community is still years away from having access to much of the primary sources of Washington's later life, the important Presidential years in this book have little to add to a general understanding of his life.

That said, this is a fine, one-volume biography for the general reader who especially wants to understand why Washington's leadership worked so effectively. The reader will come away with a greater understanding of Washington as a driven businessman, military leader, politician, and family man; in many ways ashamed of his lack of formal education compared to his peers; but with unique character and understanding of his age, meshed with his personality, that no one else was capable of putting together on a personal level. The reader will see, probably because of the importance that Washington placed on personal character, why he picked subordinates so poorly at times, either in the military or in politics, for at times Washington valued loyalty over competence or trustworthiness. But Randall also does an effective job of telling why Washington's early life, his development of self control and work to understand and respect so many different types of people made him uniquely qualified to lead the first real Republic in nearly 2000 years.

[Heather Baldus · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the first chapter I found it filled with many assumptions, presumptions and worse the horrible unnecessary dramatization....one of the most absurd in the first chapter...
"Into Wakefield, the Washington's modest brick house on Pope's Creek, Mary crowded all the furniture she had inherited, jammed alongside the Washington family's accumulation. When she was pregnant with George Washington, she experienced a shock that may have shaped her relationship with the large child taking shape in her womb. One summer Sunday afternoon, while the family was having dinner with guests from church, a thunderstorm rolled in. A bolt of lightning struck the house and traveled down the chimney and hit a young girl who was visiting the Washingtons for Sunday dinner. The electric current was so strong it fused the knife and fork she was using to cut her meat. She died instantly. The lightning hit with such force that it severely jolted the pregnant Mary Washington, who was sitting only a few feet away. From that time on, Mary Ball Washington cringed and tried to hide whenever lightning passed overhead, burying her face in her hands. For the moment, she recovered, but she became increasingly fearful over the years. She was so happy a few months later when a strong, sound baby was born that she traveled around the Tidewater showing off George Washington to all his cousins for an entire month, before she even had him baptized.

Mary Ball Washington never recovered fully from the shock she had seen and felt. She rarely traveled any farther than church on Sunday and her timorousness touched off a number of clashes with her family, especially her sons, whom she discouraged from taking any risks. In his choice of a military career, George Washington faced a long struggle against a mother who kept him from going to sea as a boy and embarrassed him in front of senior British officers when he was a young aide-de-camp. Even when he became a hero in the American Revolution, she could not understand; in fact she resented his desire to stray from her side and leave the safety of the farm to go off to war."

The unbelievable amount of bullshit in those two paragraphs is astounding. His story about Mary is completely and utterly made up. If you can make any sense of Mr. Randall's citations system you will find that he cites "Memoirs of the Mother & Wife of Washington" by Margaret Conkling (1850), pg 44 for his tale.
Excerpt from Conkling: "But one of the many weaknesses that usually characterize humanity was manifested by this heroic woman. Upon the approach of a thunder-storm she invariably retired to her own apartment and remained there until calmness was restored to the elements. This almost constitutional timidity, was occasioned by a singularly distressing incident of her youth - the instant death, from the effects of lightning, of a young friend, who was, at the moment when the accident occurred, sitting close beside her"

Ms. Conkling makes absolutely no mention of Mary being pregnant or knives and forks melting together which by the way is just wrong because at the time (1732) the colonists would not have used forks and knifes to eat meals because they did not become popular in America until decades later.
In fact, of all the times this myth has been repeated (repeated by George Washington Parke Custis in his Memoirs of Washington) none of the "information" included in Randall's telling was every part of it. He inserted this false information so he could make his narrative more dramatic and support his conclusion that it somehow caused Mary to become unreasonable cautious and try to impeded in her son's life and make sure he never left. That is absolutely ridiculous and wrong and is a pathetic attempt to portray Mary as a shrew, unloving woman who her children did not love and could barely tolerate. I cannot believe this man teaches history. The sheer amount of books that he and his wife have churned out in so few years leaves me to believe that they do not put much effort into researching primary sources or checking authenticity.

[Bryson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for the definitive Washington biography, look elsewhere. In 560 pages Randall covers Washington’s entire life from boyhood through the presidency. By packing 60+ years of critical American history into a biographical narrative, many fascinating figures such as Ethan Allen and Henry Knox are given only passing descriptions. Randall avoids cumbersome detail and leaves the reader curios to learn more about the man and the time. By that measure, it is a great biography. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like they don’t know the Father of Our Country as well as they should. This book is a perfect jumping off point from which to dive into more detailed histories of the early Republic, the Revolutionary War, the Constitutional Convention, the French and Indian War or the crises of the late colonial period. The author is at his best describing the precarious and dangerous pre-Revolutionary decade.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent Washington biography although probably too in depth for casual readers. Anyone with an interest in American History, Biographies, or World History should read at least one Washington biography in their lives.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as a young History teacher & used sections of it in my classes to prep my students for their "mock trial" of Benedict Arnold. This particular bio delves into the people in his life & his relationships with many of them.

[Matt Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

My own major critique: I got the sense at different points in the book that the author had mixed up dates, but didn't have time then to double check.

Having said that, this book taught me two important things about the man. First, most interestingly, he was descended from a long line of royalists, making his life as a staunch anti-monarchist revolution all the more unexpected historically speaking. Second, George Washington's genius did not lie in a military record of nearly unbroken victories like that of Napoleon or Alexander the Great. Rather, his genius was in repeated timing victories during the Revolutionary War such that he always maintained a well staffed army. He was constantly worried that he wouldn't retain enough recruits for the next fighting season, so he found creative ways to keep them motivated so they'd reenlist next term. Finally, his willingness to surrender power again and again is the final (and to me greatest) reason he remains so special in history.

[Andrew Canfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are few writers who can bring Revolutionary America alive like Willard Sterne Randall. His ability as a historian to flesh out the movers and shakers of this era is difficult to match, and George Washington: A Life was no exception.

While Ron Chernow’s telling of the first president’s life and times remains the best of class in Washington biographies, Randall brings his unique touch to bear in this work of nonfiction. His meticulous research results in details being teased out about his subjects that often escape the notice or scrutiny of lesser researchers, and this bears itself out often in Washington: A Life.

The book is heavy on Washington’s pre-presidential years, with his time as a surveyor of western lands and as a French and Indian War military commander taking up a substantial portion of its first half. In fact, the book is well over halfway over before Washington assumes command of the Continental Army.

Early on, Randall grants readers a look at the first Washingtons to arrive in the colonies in the seventeenth century. Great-grandparents Colonel John Washington and Anne Pope’s establishment of the family away from England is looked at, and a background sketch of parents Augustine and Mary Ball in the Virginia Tidewater region is provided. Readers are given a look at the building up of Mount Vernon by brother Lawrence Washington (and later by George).

One thing that comes through in the opening sections are the close bonds between the mother country and the colonies in George’s youth. These connections are at first obvious in the relationship between the Washington and neighboring Fairfax family; this friendship is largely undone when the loyalist Fairfaxes leave Belvoir for England during the early stages of the revolution. (Based on letters Washington wrote to the married Sally Fairfax, although seemingly nothing more than a close friendship, their relationship nevertheless bordered on more than platonic based on the letters Washington wrote to her).

Washington’s friendship with Governor Robert Dinwiddie, the British crown's representative in Virginia, both underscored the pre revolutionary ties to England and proved a boon to his advancement in the army during the French and Indian War.

It is this conflict that seemed to get disproportionate focus in the book. It receives as many, if not more, pages dedicated to it than does the Revolutionary War!

Washington's service as both a major and colonel in the British service during the French and Indian War brought the future president both distinction and ignominy. Beginning with his carrying of an ultimatum to the French and the clash in the forest at Jumonville in 1754, Washington played a key role in what would prove to be the opening stages of combat in the multi-continental Seven Years War. The building of defensive works in what was then the frontier of western Pennsylvania would prove a critical contribution of Washington to the war effort and the safeguarding of America’s later expansions into what would become the Ohio Territory.

The Battle of Fort Necessity, fought with the help of Lieutenant Colonel George Muse and Captain Samuel Mackay against the Indians and the French officer Louis de Coulon de Villiers on July 3rd, 1754, was an example of Washington’s ability to both mess up and improvise on the fly. What looked like a humiliating defeat for the British ended with something resembling respectable terms of retreat; July third was an impactful date which would remain in Washington's memory for the rest of his life.

Washington would join General Edward Braddock’s expedition two years later near the Monongahela River to clear the French out of Fort Duquesne, which was then the outskirts of civilization but today located in present day Pittsburgh. With a young Daniel Boone also with their outfit, the attack on this fort ended with chaos thanks to a disappointing performance by the British regulars. The highly regarded Braddock would not make it back alive from this disastrous expedition, a failed campaign which could seemingly have ended any military career the future Washington hoped to have.

But Washington would regroup at Fort Cumberland and began to improve logistics within the fighting force. Reading the French and Indian War section is enough to leave readers exhausted as Washington gallops back and forth across miles of forested terrain. Snow, rain, or shine, he seems to always be on the move to improve the army’s positioning against the French and their native allies. Haggling over his rank would take place with the British colonial authorities as Washington worked hard to shape a proper frontier fighting force (he and many others had long since concluded European old world style warfare was insane in western frontier combat).

A chronic intestinal ailment that he had acquired thanks to rotten meat during the Monongahela campaign did little to soothe the physical difficulties Washington labored under during the French and Indian War years.

Willard notes that Washington’s “first war formed him. He learned to endure terrible hardships and he suffered serious illnesses. He came close to dying from disease and was shot at on at least five occasions…He lost a fort. He surrendered a regiment. He failed in his mission to protect the Virginia frontier, and he went home before the war was over and missed out on the final defeat of the French. Yet…he received one promotion after another.” He goes on to point out that the future resident was “tremendously lucky. He not only survived five years of appalling hardship and many serious mistakes, but he escaped blame for most of the fiascos in which he found himself involved.”

Following the war, Washington would go on to a fifteen-year House of Burgesses career in 1759. This portion of the book would encompass the deteriorating relationship between the American colonies and the country Washington had fought for during the French and Indian campaigns. The Stamp Act crisis and Intolerable Acts play out within the context of Washington’s growing willingness to embrace a once unthinkable break with the mother country.

His growing land holdings are detailed with care by Randall, who delves into competition between Washington’s Ohio Company and the Illinois Company (a land company which claimed none other than Benjamin Franklin himself as a promoter). Washington was determined to create a route by canal from the western lands that went toward Virginia and the South instead of to New York, preferably heading in the direction of his own Potomac River plantation (Mount Vernon).

His projects included an effort to drain the Great Dismal Swamp of southern Virginia and land speculation that made a mockery of British pre Revolutionary efforts to keep land west of the Alleghenies open for the Natives and free from white settlement. Washington helped form the Mississippi Land Company during his relentless attempts to capitalize on what looked like a great future investment in the barely settled western lands.

Somehow during these years Washington, though he had no children of his own, became a doting stepfather to his wife Martha’s own children. Mount Vernon seemed to constantly be playing host to not only family but friends from the vicinity and, after Washington achieved the heights of his fame, to travelers wanting to meet the famous Washingtons firsthand.

The crisis with England blows up with the opening shots at Lexington and Concord in 1775, beginning the Revolutionary War portion of the narrative. The book lays out Washington’s takeover of command after the Battle of Bunker Hill, mentioning both the highs and lows of his time at the Continental Army helm. Things start poorly with a retreat from New York City following defeats at the Battle of Long Island and Fort Washington. Then they only go downhill even more after the loss of Philadelphia courtesy of the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown; this is followed by the wrenching winter at Valley Forge.

Randall does a fairly boilerplate job describing Washington’s command during the Revolutionary War, but in his defense it is not as if these battles and their fallout have not been picked over on numerous occasions by numerous authors more focused on the martial aspect of Washington’s career. The surprise at Trenton and the quick followup a week later at Princeton; the friendship with the Marquis de Lafayette and the valuable help courtesy of France; the breaking up of Thomas Conway’s cabal designed to undo Washington’s command authority; each of these are delved into with relative rapidity in Washington: A Life. Benedict Arnold’s betrayal and the timeline of this dastardly act are written about with particularly admirable detail.

By the time of Charles Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown the book is nearly four-fifths complete, leaving readers to wonder how justice can be done to Washington’s two terms as president in the portion that remains.

The section on Washington’s presidency indeed ends up feeling rushed. Randall would have required two, if not three, volumes to do justice to his detail-rich telling of George Washington’s life and times. But he makes the most of the space dedicated to the years between 1789 and 1797 when Washington aided the young nation in its effort to find its footing, explaining key details and making clear the unstable nature of the early years of America's republic.

The president made clear his disdain for the partisan infighting that erupted between Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. This was a sign of a growing factionalism in the country, and Washington agreed to stay on for a second term largely due to his concern that things would come apart were it not for his presence in the executive branch.

The somewhat rushed final part does not detract from the overall strength of Washington: A Life. Areas which often receive less focus actually get an extended look thanks to the pen of a fantastic historian, and readers will finish this book grateful that they have received an in-depth look at various aspects of Washington’s public and private life.

This is a strong biography of a key founding father.

Washington’s efforts in the military and domestic diplomatic arena receive close scrutiny in Randall’s book, and even Washington’s torn feelings on issues like slavery (which he personally profited from but nevertheless viewed as a barbaric system) come through well courtesy of the author's supple writing. Torn feelings also arose from a break with the mother country Washington once loved and an imperial system the first president once felt was the envy of the world; readers will feel this alongside Washington as the story unfolds in the hands of a gifted writer.

The book's ability to generate emotions toward the fate and concerns of its key figures is one of its tremendous strengths. Readers wanting to gain a strong feel for George Washington's time in the military sphere should definitely read Randall's recounting, and few better starting points for a study of his life and times can be found than this superb work of storytelling.

-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, this book is amazing. Never before has the real George Washington been presented, and you'll really see what a real-life super hero is all about. If you read any book on Washington, make sure this one is it.

[Katbus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sought this book out knowing hardly anything about Washington. I was looking for a general understanding of him as a person, not just as a president, founding father, and war hero. This book hit that on the nose. It includes details of the time and about people in his life that make it approachable to people without much foreknowledge of the subject. Since most of those details come from direct sources, mostly letters, conclusions can be drawn without too much objectivity from the author. He manages to present the information in a way that explains why historians tend to glorify Washington, without doing it himself. While sticking to the facts makes the narrative sometimes a bit dry, I would not say that it is ever actually boring. It is a bit of a slow read. I was tempted at times to pick up something lighter to read as a break. Overall, though, I feel that I have a much greater understanding of the man I set out to get to know. If you've got some time and determination it's worth a read.

[Michelle Sampson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to broaden my book choices and read something non-fiction. I read this last year and can't remember why I picked it up. Nonetheless, some of the book was fascinating. I learned so much about Washington that you don't hear much about. I struggled to finish it though. I can usually get through a book pretty quickly but this one took me a couple of months. The battles he fought, with the exception of the descriptions of the revolutionary war, were difficult to get through. I almost skipped those parts! I am not sure if it was the author's writing or because this was a biography that I struggled to finish it. I was proud that I did finish it!

[Kevin Kizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Washington's mom was kind of a bitch: she didn't want the States to separate from the Crown and she didn't think her son should be president.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author information is, in places, at odds with authors that have written before and after him, but overall it was a good read.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randall provides a fully detailed, cap a pie investigation of The Great Man's life. It's refreshing, in that he offers a beautifully researched and nicely written biography without falling into either the hagiographical trap (popular in earlier decades/centuries) or today's preference to grind into dust anyone who once held a pedestaled position in the country's eye. I particularly enjoyed learning about his early life, his career as a surveyor, his early steps and missteps in the French and Indian War, and his rough years in charge of the Revolutionary Army. This is not a biography filled with intimate details about the First Couple -- but that's largely because Martha destroyed most of their correspondence -- so you can't get as close to George and Martha as, for example, the delightfully epistolary John and Abigail Adams. But you still learn a huge amount about his entire life, and get good insights into his decision-making as well as the enormous impact he had on this country. Randall writes objectively, bless him. I'm off to the library to capture his book on Ethan Allen. Randall is a Vermonter, so it will be interesting to see if he can write fairly about the god of the Green Mountains.

[Mark Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Randall's biography of Washington is apparently very well researched, as he quotes liberally from Washington's letters and those of his correspondents; Randall devoted almost a full page to a description of the items that George and Martha packed into their wagons for their move to Mount Vernon (page 195). Randall appears almost titillated by the letters between George Washington and the wife of his good friend and neighbor, Sally Fairfax, which Randall covers extensively. I question Randall's choices - He wrote considerably more about such minor things than he did about some of the most important times in Washington's life, such as the constitutional convention. He also repeats himself often - I read several times about how impressed French officers were at Washington's ability to dance the minuet. I did learn some new things through this book, but there was far too much useless trivia here.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better understanding of American history

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine biography. I'd have preferred more nitty-gritty on the presidency period.

[Brenda Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I knew the ending in advance, I still cried.

[Ryan Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s hard, as a hamilton (the musical) fan, to imagine these characters as pasty redheads.

a dry telling, but informative.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an e-book version of this biography and was disappointed in the number of uncorrected conversion errors. Aside from that, this was a great biography for the reader who is looking for the story of Washington's entire life and not just his presidency or military career. The author presented a balanced view of Washington's life, showing both his failures and his successes. The most important events of his life are covered and there are many selections from Washington's own writing to illustrate the subject's views. Occasionally, the book seems to bog down in superfluous detail. If you are looking for a more scholarly footnoted biography for research, this would not be the book for you. All in all I would recommend this as an excellent introduction to the life, times, and influence of George Washington.

[Chuck Heikkinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An account of the Washington, the man, in both his private and public life. The narrative of the Revolutionary War and the political battles behind the scenes between the Continental Congress and Washington over supplies and cooperation gives a very different view (from the secondary education history texts I had) of how united the colonies were during the War, and the difficulties that inflicted on the progress of the fighting. It also is enlightening regarding the British commanders' reluctance to pursue the revolutionaries, thus allowing Washington and his army to regroup and eventually win.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent biography chock full of insights and great information that makes our history understandable. For example, how did we get an official separation from Church and State? Without the understanding that the people had to support the official church of England in this nascent country this is hard to understand. So it was not just that people here wanted freedom of religion is was also that they did not want to pay for the establishment religion.

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent bio of George Washington. And very long. It's a shame that (I believe) most of us know next to nothing about this heroic figure. IN fact, I didn't consider him a particularly herooic figure until the book. His myth permeates us blocking out the truth. It's hard to think of him as a real person. But he was, and what an interesting one. What he would think of the US today is pretty obvious and not very pretty.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying to read a biography of every president. This was a great one to start - Randall's does a great job of telling a story. Washington was a man with less education than many of the founders but a man with a great code of conduct that he adhered to. He joined the revolution because of money the British were hurting his ability to farm and gain more land. This gave a great overview of his life and worth the read.

[Katie O. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted so much to like - or at least finish - this reportedly penultimate biography of Washington. And while it was well-researched and written clearly, the tone struck me as a bit over the top. Yes, GW may have been more high strung than down home, but I think I'd have preferred a calmer tone from the words on the page. Of course, if Randall wanted to convey GW's persnickety personality via the tone, then he did a masterful job.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about George Washington from this book. Think about it, what did you learn about him in school? Not all that much, but he was a pretty amazing guy. Unless you're really, really into history or have some kind of George Washington fetish, I suggest a little lighter reading. I'm a nerd though, so I enjoyed it.

[Danmcgohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable biography of my favorite president. Mr. Randall presented Washington more as an opportunist through out his career. The book did not focus enough on Washington's presidency. I learned more about Washington's relationship with his mother. Quite interesting the Revolution years and the make-up of the army.

[Barbara Buckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written in a way that better gets you to understand where events in GW's life happened by referring to the locations, roads, etc as they are known now. This book gave insight to GW as a boy to a man, FLAWS AND ALL. He may not have won as many battles as we all may have thought, however, he was very much loved and respected by all.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses mainly on Washington during the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars and I wish the author would have focused more on other areas of Washington's life, especially his presidency. But, I overall enjoyed this book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very comprehensive narrative of GW's life, from start to finish. Great details on some of the battles and on GW's routines. Could tell by reading it that it is not the best book on GW, but nonetheless a great way to learn about him.

Finish date is approx.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. Not as compelling at McCulloch's Truman, but still a wonderful book. I learned a lot about Washington that I didn't know and the reading was enjoyable without ever being boring or too complex.