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What are readers saying about His Excellency: George Washington (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper))?
| Reviews of His Excellency: George Washington (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper)) - Page 1 of 4 |
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Ryan posted a review at 2007-09-04 08:33:36.
(Language: English)
 
Very well written and poignant glimpse into "His Excellency". The author, Joseph J. Ellis, is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the book is a national bestseller for good reason. I can honestly say it's the BEST book I've read about George Washington. The imagery and descriptions written illustrate this great man's complex character, including weaknesses, and prescient executive decisions that arguably, thanks to Providence or otherwise, rank him as the greatest president in the history of the United States of America.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-28 10:52:33.
(Language: English)
Extremely interesting book that covers his whole life. What an amazing man.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-20 09:56:07.
(Language: English)
Pretty good but not great. There's just not much left about George Washington that hasn't already been said, I'm afraid.
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Tim posted a review at 2009-02-22 09:28:13.
(Language: English)
A surprising and interesting view of George Washington as kinda-king. Here in the 21st century we hear nothing but good words about Washington, and Ellis has plenty of those. But reading about the struggles, the fears, and even the failings of Washington helped bring humanness to a great man. Washington's desire to "leave a legacy" sounds like the mantra uttered about every post-Reagan presidents.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-04 10:09:40.
(Language: English)
Excellent insight into a man that is only known today for loosing more battles than he won. In fact, without his leadership and his willingness to step away from power, which throughout history has almost been unheard of, we may live in a very different country.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-10-25 07:27:41.
(Language: English)
Joseph Ellis has given us a (relatively) slim account of George Washington. In doing so, he has taken the biographer's middle path, treating Washington neither as a god nor as a horrible, evil white male. I appreciated that as Ellis explored Washington's faults, he fairly pointed out how his failings shaped him into a better general, leader, president and human being. Overall, the book is fair, well-balanced and an engaging read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-13 09:22:00.
(Language: English)
Ellis turns his exacting research into a well-written book that not only details the rise of George Washington, but adds a human side to him that was not properly established in the past. The excellence of the work is that although Ellis makes him more human, he also upholds Washington's status as an icon and great American. Anyone interested in US history should read this book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-18 11:09:48.
(Language: English)
One of the best books I have read on George Washington. You get a true sense of how Washington was as a person and public figure.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-14 11:29:37.
(Language: English)
Good read. Goes into the essential human qualities that made Washington who he is and girded the underpinnings of our Republic in it's infancy. America would not be a country if it had not been for Washington.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-03 04:21:46.
(Language: English)
It's a good, short, easy read for an interesting overview of Washington's life. My only beef is that the writing is painfully pedestrian. Clichéd phrases like "standing joke" and "the plot thickened" are everywhere, like Ellis wrote it over a long weekend for some quick spending cash.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-18 03:49:32.
(Language: English)
Great History
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-24 05:31:07.
(Language: English)
Simply Brilliant.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-16 11:05:58.
(Language: English)
His excellency is the epic story of George Washington-the founding father.Joseph ellis writes in a lucid manner shorn of all verbosity!George Washington's life is unbelievable!He was the chief architect of the American nation and led the country to wars over the British and French alike.Incidentally,he won both wars.His life is that of a warrior prince who envisioned a new nation free from the shackles of the British empire.America would do well to remember his teachings and apply them!An excellent book overall! General Washington is my all time favorite.America will do well to remember him and follow his policies!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-02 01:45:40.
(Language: English)
This is a spectacular introduction to the life and singular character of our most important Founding Father. It would be tempting to get lost in the minutiae of GW's life. Ellis gives us enough detail to satisfy while keeping his eye on the broader themes and keeping the story moving at a nice clip (275 pages total). I particularly enjoyed Ellis's telling of the last years of GW's life, as he struggled with the issue of slavery and a new political culture that deigned to curse at him. I would recommend this book to students of history who seek a highly erudite but readable introduction to GW's life and times.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-02 09:09:41.
(Language: English)
Setting aside Washington’s youth due to a lack of historical evidence, Ellis essentially opens the biography with Washington’s entry into prominence with his role in the beginnings of the French and Indian War, and from there proceeds to cover the rest of his life. The focus is obviously on the well-known aspects of Washington’s life – the military, congressional, and presidential aspects, and this is done quite well for the breadth of information intended (as it is a relatively short book for such a historical figure). The peripheral aspects of Washington’s life, at least in terms of what may be conveyed in an elementary or secondary text book, though surely had more weight in his own life, garner lengthy sections on some topics (his meticulous running of Mount Vernon even while away), but are noticeably absent on others (Martha Washington, “his most intimate confidante,” post-marriage seems to be little more than a footnote). Overall, I was quite pleased with the book. For me, it essentially served as an in-depth primer on Washington’s life. I hope to learn more as I continue reading on this period, and will find an easier time doing that now that I have a better grasp on Washington’s life as a whole. I especially appreciated the structure of the book. As Washington had very little education compared with many of the other founding fathers, I thought the book reflected well the pace with which Washington both came to hold his views and became more knowledgeable on the issues he needed to be. The early chapters of the book focus more on his experiences and how he reacts to many things, with only brief notes on what he thought, such as the earlier feelings he started to have toward the British military for their condescending attitude toward colonials, or his treatment by his trading partner in Britain under the consignment system. But as the book progresses, Washington becomes more firmly entrenched as a singular icon, and America begins to forge as a nation, it seems Washington’s beliefs fortify into their eventual positions, at which point Ellis can expound upon them in greater detail. As with any representation, whether biography, portrait, or anything else, the image projected depends entirely on what the writer or artist chooses to illustrate and on what they may concentrate. By writing the biography with a sense of brevity, the author essentially paints broad strokes of Washington’s life without often giving more thorough details on some issues and interactions that would shed a great deal of light on Washington to an unaccomplished reader. A couple specific relationships that I would have appreciated more information on would have been those with Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and to a lesser extent, Thomas Jefferson. Martha Washington, as previously mentioned in this review, draws hardly a mention in the book after their marriage. This lack of information almost makes the implication that the marriage was more for money (hers) than for love (as he was smitten with another woman just before marrying Martha Custis). But the few statements they do make on her belie this possibility. The relationship with Hamilton I am especially eager to learn more about, as many accused Washington of bordering on senile during his presidency, and being misled by Hamilton to accomplish Hamilton’s vision of America. And Jefferson simply because he was what Washington thought of as the proverbial “prodigal son” in the family who was one of those making the accusations of senility. Ultimately, Ellis portrays Washington as an extremely astute man who believed in his own independence and therefore also for the land in which he lived. But despite his independent spirit, he was ever mindful of how he was viewed by those around him, and those in generations to come. Because of this, one may be intrigued by the notes of his closest commanders, who all essentially swore never to publish memoirs after the war, or by his personal letters to his wife, which were apparently all destroyed by her after his death. But these are aspects of his life that were not intended to be public, and never will be. As stated previously, I expected this book to be a primer on Washington moreso than an in-depth covering of his entire life, and the author even alludes to this in the preface, noting that there are many biographies out there that are multiple-volume works covering Washington alone. As such, I think it easily fulfilled the hope I had of what I would get out of it, and would definitely recommend it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-25 07:56:02.
(Language: English)
Great biography. My favorite realization occurred when he had one the revolutionary war and yet the book was only half finished. He was powerfully human (meaning far from perfect) which makes the lessons of his life applicable across time and circumstance.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-13 10:14:58.
(Language: English)
George Washington, the great Sphinx of the Revolution.. I have read other biographies of Washington, Flexner comes to mind, but there are others. Ellis' work is essential towards providing the essentially human side of Washington whilst admitting to his "Indispensable Quality" as the leader of the Continental Army and our first President. Excellency is quite readable while at the same time authoritative. I had the distinct pleasure of visiting with Mr. Ellis at Mount Vernon recently, and I can attest to EXCELLENCY reflecting the author's true voice and opinions. Ellis is a most engaging speaker and author. A good read!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-23 07:17:13.
(Language: English)
Just finished listening to the CD version of this book. I knew there were rivalries among the Founding Fathers, but I had no idea Jefferson was such a slimy schemer. According to this book's author, during Washington's 2nd term, Jefferson was anonymously writing (or having a proxy write, I can't remember) articles implying that Washington was getting senile and was just a puppet being manipulated by sinister forces (aka Alexander Hamilton) behind the scenes. That's low Tommy J, I thought better of you.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-19 07:23:29.
(Language: English)
Didn't quite finish, but it was quite interesting.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-01 12:12:41.
(Language: English)
Fantastic insight into a man who was motivated by reputation. Ellis also brings to light Washington's views on slavery which most history textbooks fail to enlighten. For historical non-fiction this was an enjoyable read!
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-06 12:24:37.
(Language: English)
An excellent biography of GW by the eminent historian Joseph Ellis, this book cuts through a lot of the rote day-to-day affairs that dominated his letters and obscured the man within. Ellis is able (or tries, convincingly) to demonstrate GW's philosophy behind many of his more complex thoughts, among them his relation to slavery, the Federalists, and his poor war record. As his wife burned all of their personal correspondence, this feat of unmasking the man behind the iron mask he was so famous for is quite an accomplishment.Even so, with such a slim volume (close to 300pp), I felt like I haven't fully "conquered" GW.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-20 01:32:29.
(Language: English)
A highly readable book that really goes into some great depth on Washington, not only as a military leader, but as President. I learned a great deal about his presidency and the infighting of his cabinet members. Highly recommended.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-28 09:11:14.
(Language: English)
I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook as it weaved through the life of the revered hero and the imperfect man that was George Washington. While I do recommend it for all to read, I do so with some caveats. First, the author does at times draw conclusions for which there is insufficient evidence. For instance, he states that Sally Fairfax was Washington’s secret love (in his heart and mind - if not physically). Yet, the evidence provided is far less conclusive. There is ample evidence to be suspicious, but not enough so to draw conclusions. Secondly, I believe the author’s bias towards Federalism was on display in the way that he presents Jefferson and other Republican stalwarts. I wouldn't read too much into this however. I believe - on the whole - Ellis did an outstanding job of laying out the issues as fairly as he could. He provided ample enough information for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, but the wording - and the tone and tenor of the reading of the audiobook - were a little leading. Also it is left to the reader - as it should be - to distinguish between Washington’s brand of Federalism and current day Federalism - which Washington may well be appalled by. Oh, and incidentally, the audiobook does have some annoying breathing and swallowing issues that are hard to overlook.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-27 08:45:38.
(Language: English)
The top 3 things people know about George Washington: 1. George Washington was the 1st President of the United States. (TRUE) 2. George Washington chopped down his parents' cherry tree as a boy. (FALSE) 3. George Washington had wooden dentures. (FALSE) His Excellency is of the story of George Washington, his leadership through the American Revolution, and-- excuse the cliche --the birth of our nation.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-19 12:10:22.
(Language: English)
As it turns out, someone who always got short shrift in the most-influential-founding father debate turns out to be the shrewdest, most visionary, the least beholden to political partisanship, and the true father of our country. The top president of the republic's first 50 years. Any Jeffersonians out there--you're delusional hypocrites, at best.
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| Reviews of His Excellency: George Washington (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper)) - Page 1 of 4 |
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