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PRESIDENTIAL SERIES
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SPOTLIGHT - WASHINGTON, A LIFE - INTRODUCTION - Spoiler Thread
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Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
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Sep 19, 2016 08:35AM
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Ron Chernow
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Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
This event notification is for the Presidential Series discussion beginning September 26th with a three month duration ending on December 18th.
In Washington, A Life, Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one-volume life of Washington, this crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president.
Review(s):
“Truly magnificent… [a] well-researched, well-written and absolutely definitive biography” –Andrew Roberts, The Wall Street Journal
“Superb… the best, most comprehensive, and most balanced single-volume biography of Washington ever written.” –Gordon S. Wood, The New York Review of Books
We hope you can join us to discuss Washington, A Life/b> by Ron Chernow beginning September 26th, 2016.
Bentley will be leading this discussion and sorry for the delay.
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Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University (right), presents the 2011 Biography prize to Ron Chernow
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By Ron Chernow
Washington
In Washington: A Life celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one-volume life of Washington, this crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president.
Despite the reverence his name inspires, Washington remains a lifeless waxwork for many Americans, worthy but dull. A laconic man of granite self-control, he often arouses more respect than affection. In this groundbreaking work, based on massive research, Chernow dashes forever the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man. A strapping six feet, Washington was a celebrated horseman, elegant dancer, and tireless hunter, with a fiercely guarded emotional life. Chernow brings to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods. Probing his private life, he explores his fraught relationship with his crusty mother, his youthful infatuation with the married Sally Fairfax, and his often conflicted feelings toward his adopted children and grandchildren. He also provides a lavishly detailed portrait of his marriage to Martha and his complex behavior as a slave master.
At the same time, Washington is an astute and surprising portrait of a canny political genius who knew how to inspire people. Not only did Washington gather around himself the foremost figures of the age, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, but he also brilliantly orchestrated their actions to shape the new federal government, define the separation of powers, and establish the office of the presidency.
In this unique biography, Ron Chernow takes us on a page-turning journey through all the formative events of America's founding. With a dramatic sweep worthy of its giant subject, Washington is a magisterial work from one of our most elegant storytellers.
-- from the publisher
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Ron Chernow is the prize-winning author of five previous books. His first, The House of Morgan, won the National Book Award. His two most recent books, Alexander Hamilton and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, were both nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography. Chernow lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Hi I am Bentley - founder of the History Book Club group and we are delighted to have you with us for this discussion. I hail from New England originally and now live in the Metro NYC area. Love NYC, history, political science, the arts and travel.
I look forward to reading and discussing Chernow's book especially during this tumultuous political season - reading about one of our founding fathers and what leadership qualities he had.
Learning from history might be inspirational for all of us - whether we are talking about George Washington, or a male or female candidate for the highest office at any time in our history - past, present or future. What kind of president did the founding fathers choose and what qualities of leadership did Washington possess?
It is my hope that this Presidential Series read will give us insight and some understanding of the man who was the first formally elected Presidential leader after the ratification of our constitution in 1788 - George Washington.
Quote from one of our later presidents:
DWIGHT EISENHOWER (1890-1969)
The qualities of a great man are "vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character."
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Here is the link to the Table of Contents and Syllabus thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Remember we are starting out with the first assignment for Week One - from the Author's Note - XVII through the conclusion of Chapter Five - up through and including page 62.
Hi, everyone! I'm Samanta, from far away Croatia and an admin on HBC. I'll be joining you in this discussion, because...well, I managed to get my hands on the copy of the book, and because Washington is one of the rare U.S. presidents mentioned in Croatian (formal education) history books.
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I will check if they will offer this to the folks overseas who are participating.
This will be a great ancillary book coming out by John Nagy - more information to follow from our friends at St Martin's Press.
Normally these offers are only for the US residents.
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I think you have but if you haven't go to this link:
https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/...
Hello, everyone! I'm Teri, one of the Assisting Moderators here at the HBC. I have always been particularly interested in American History and the history of our Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents. I've read some other books on Washington, but have not yet read anything by Chernow, so I am looking forward to this one. I visited Mount Vernon about four years ago, so it will be nice to hopefully get some background on Washington's home as well.
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Hello folks! I'm Donna, from southwestern Pennsylvania, USA. There are several reasons why I have chosen to read this book, not the least of which is that I live about ten minutes from Fort Ligonier (formerly Fort Loyalhanna) and about 40 minutes from Fort Necessity, both of which played a part in Washington's early military career. I am interested to see how Chernow discusses this period in Washington's life as well as his role in the Whiskey Rebellion, which also took place in this area of Pennsylvania. I recently finished Chernow's excellent biography of Alexander Hamilton, so I know we are in for a book that is well-written and deeply researched. 
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Ron Chernow
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Hi everyone, I'm Harmke and I will join the group read from the Netherlands. American history is one of my favorite history topics. I love to read biographies because you learn so much of a period of time through one person's life. Looking forward to discuss the book with you all!
I'm Matt from Florida. I'm not reading this book again anytime soon; I read it this summer and finished just a month ago, so I won't be following along with the syllabus. But hopefully I'll still be able to contribute.
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Here is the link for those folks who want to participate:
https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/...
Hi I'm Nina from Kansas, I just joined Goodreads last night and am still learning how this works. I would love to join the discussion on this book. Am I too late? My favorite books are about our founding fathers and with the election this book would be perfect for my first discussion.
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Hello everyone. I am Glynn from the sunny Space Coast of Florida. I have participated in a couple of discussions here on the History Book Club. I want to someday read one book at least about each of the presidents. I read this one years ago but probably missed a lot so I am excited to read it again with the group. I have a bit more time to read this time around having suffered a knee injury (NOT running related!) and on crutches for the next eight weeks!
Hello:I am Steve from Northern Illinois.
Looking forward to learning more about the First President and the American Revolution.
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My name is Lori. I am from Iowa and this will be my first group read with the History Group. I have started the book and it's title "A Life" is very appropriate as it does not just focus on major battles, but also on relationships. I am really looking forward to our discussions.
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Hi I'm Helga, from SC and I have joined other discussions with the HBC and always find them interesting. I have always been interested in American Presidents and US history and have a read a few other books about Washington but not this one. I know this will be a great read and based on the title should be more than just about the battles during this time . Thanks to Bentley and all the moderators who will lead a fascinating discussion.
I'm Bill from Chicago. Joined Goodreads 4 years ago and have done nothing since, but I'm retired now and want to participate. I've read
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Looking forward to it.
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Hi. I am Karen and I am from Valley Forge, PA, which is 15 miles Northwest of Philadelphia. I have had this book in my collection for a long time, and I thought it would be very good to read it with others. I have always been interested in colonial history and the American Revolution, so much so that I majored in History in college.
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Hi to everyone. I'm Pamela from Kennesaw, Georgia and this will be a re-read for me. I've been a fan of G. Washington for a long time and have read several books about him and the Revolutionary time period. Since we lived in both the District of Columbia and Virginia a couple of times during our military days, I've been to Mt. Vernon and the Washington Monument and some of the other places mentioned in this book. Looking forward to the discussion as they always help me to understand things with a different perspective.
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We are happy that you have been a member for a long time and also that you are posting and we hope you enjoy the discussion.
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Hi all. I'm Rhonda from South Louisiana and this will be my second HBC read. I love learning about American History. This will be my first lengthy read about the life of George Washington. So far, I greatly admire Chernow's writing style. Although I probably won't be an ardent contributor, I look forward to learn more about the varying perspectives on his life. I've been to Washington's monument, but not Mount Vernon.
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This is how we do citations of books we are not discussing:
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Ron Chernow
Bentley wrote: "Those of you planning to discuss the book please post here in advance and introduce yourself and tell us why this book interests you."Hi - As I joined to club late, I will not finish this book by the deadline; but I am enjoying the read. Although I listened to a biography about Washington years ago (I cannot remember what one, though), this is my first time reading one. What I do remember was appreciating Washington's learning and growth into his full stature of a leader. From your reference to a presidential series, is this the first one of a series the group has planned? If so, I will be looking forward to that as I have recently considered reading biographies of the presidents in chronological order.
Kimberley wrote: "Bentley wrote: "Those of you planning to discuss the book please post here in advance and introduce yourself and tell us why this book interests you."Hi - As I joined to club late, I will not fin..."
It looks as if you do have a presidential series going that I will have to keep my eye on. I am still learning my way around this group's discussions. :)
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Bentley, Hope you are well and healthy. Be kind to yourself.
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The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Alexander Hamilton (other topics)Washington: The Indispensable Man (other topics)
His Excellency: George Washington (other topics)
Alexander Hamilton (other topics)
Washington: A Life (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ron Chernow (other topics)James Thomas Flexner (other topics)
Joseph J. Ellis (other topics)
Ron Chernow (other topics)
Ron Chernow (other topics)
