Biography of George Washington by Ron Chernow: A Comprehensive Look at the Father of Our Nation

John Burnie: A fascinating review of the life of Washington and late 18th century revolutionary America. Questions raised in the book by Chernow prompt one to read further. These involve slavery, black American history, the suffragette movement, native American struggles for survival, American constitutional history, developments in American political thought and others. The continuation of slavery remains, to create the next great crisis in American history. The discussion of the siege at Yorktown is enlightening. A French general and French admiral devised the winning strategy which was then successfully carried through by Washington and his soldiers.

Australia on Aug 11, 2022

Kai Lee: Everyone knows George Washington was the military leader who defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War and is regarded as the Father of the Country. Some may also be aware that he ranked near the best among all the US Presidents, but probably not much more about the life and work of George Washington. (How many know that Washington was also the Father of the American Mule?)

Many years ago, I had read the books “1776” by David McCullough and “His Excellency – George Washington“ by Joseph Ellis. However, with the passage of time, whatever I learned have faded from memory. Recently, after reading “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin and “Jefferson” by Jon Meacham, I thought I should read “Washington – A Life” by Ron Chernow. The page numbers of these books are 754, 505, and 817 respectively, not including footnotes. They are long, but thankfully they all are engrossing page-turners and are easy to read.

I thought all three books are excellent. In particular, I believe that anyone who invests the time to read “Washington – A Life” will be rewarded with much information not only about George and Martha Washington but also a...

United States on Aug 19, 2021

Declan D.: As someone who never learnt about George Washington at school (from the UK) I only knew him as this legendary man who never told a lie. There was so much more to the man that this book can provide. The depth of information on Washington is astounding and it isn't surprising given how full his life was. But there are many levels to the character beyond the army commander and politician which Ron Chernow's book tells us. The struggles Washington had over slavery, his efforts to contain his temper, his lifelong embarrassment of a lack of higher education and his battle to hide his ambition. Perhaps the author wants to paint the picture of a flawed man who, while still being worthy of praise, doesn't illicit the bottomless adoration history has bestowed upon him. But ultimately that is the job of the historian and it is up to us to agree or not. If you only read one biography of George Washington then this is a worthy one indeed.

United Kingdom on Dec 17, 2020

a Punter: Exceptional biography of an exceptional life. Clearly portrays the person behind the myth. Certainly not conventionally 'heroic', or the most gifted military leader but brave, wise and selfless.

Washington's key gift to posterity was his refusal to turn the US presidency into a Monarchy (or rather himself into the King) that many excepted and would have welcomed. Prior to that it was his probably unique ability to hold together the under equipped and demoralised Continental army during terrible winters in awful conditions while Congress prevaricated and held back pay and equipment.

Chernow's produced an epic work with all the detail anyone, short of an academic, could hope for. It rightfully won a Pulitzer.

However, I have a couple of issues. The first is the tiresome adjectives applied to (mainly women), his mother was "shrewish", someone's wife was (pick from any number of words referring to her weight). Other than that we have the regular reference to how attractive or otherwise they appeared.

The other problem is while he attempts to grapple with the issues of slavery it seems equivocal. It feels like the premise of owning other people is accepted,...

United Kingdom on Jul 28, 2020

Jonas Erne: Wenn ein Autor es schafft, seine Leser über 900 Seiten hinweg derart zu fesseln, dann muss der Inhalt direkt aus dem Leben stammen. So viel Spannung kann sich kein Romanautor ausdenken. So erging es mir bei dieser vorbildlichen Biographie Washingtons von Ron Chernow. Schon auf den ersten Seiten holt Chernow den Leser in seinem Alltag ab und entführt ihn in eine Zeit und Welt, die ihm enorm vertraut erscheint, obgleich über 200 Jahre und ein ganzer Ozean dazwischen liegen.

Ron Chernow ist kein Historiker; und vielleicht liegt gerade darin seine Stärke, die ihm hilft, so zu schreiben, dass man sich das Beschriebene leicht vorstellen kann. Sofort ist der Leser zum Zeitgenossen im Haushalt George Washingtons geworden. Er erlebt die schwere Kindheit des Jungen mit, der mit 11 Jahren seinen Vater verliert und dessen Mutter unter der Last ihrer sich dadurch ergebenden Verantwortung schier zerbricht, was sich auch in ihrer überkritischen Haltung allen gegenüber zeigt. George seinerseits konnte seine Mutter nicht wirklich lieben lernen, da sie an allem von ihm etwas auszusetzen hatte, und entwickelte eine distanzierte Beziehung zu ihr, was sich etwa in der Anrede in Briefen...

Germany on Apr 06, 2018

Adrian J. Smith: For a figure as ubiquitous and recognizable as George Washington, one may not initially feel the sufficient curiosity to read a 900 page biography of the Father of the Nation, however, such indifference would cause one to miss out on a truly scholarly treat.
At 900 pages, Chernow stays on message and sticks to the point pretty much throughout, giving a complete portrait of the first President. All of Washington's life is covered, including family members, which reveals the crucial detail that Washington men had traditionally short life expectancy, his service in the French-Indian War, his early political career in the Virginia House of Burgesses, his leadership of the Continental Army, his seemingly reluctant Presidency, and finally, his long awaited but comparatively brief retirement.
What the reader is gifted with is not just an incredibly detailed and well researched study of Washington, but also a first rate account of the American Revolution. Having read other books on this subject, most of which were by Joseph J Ellis, it can certainly be said that this is additionally an informative study of the American Revolution.
Chernow provides a wholey objective and...

United Kingdom on Jul 11, 2016

Richard of Connecticut: Washington, A Life by Ron Chernow should be required reading by all of us, including our children. For most of us, the images we have in our heads of the founding fathers were formed a lifetime ago when we were children. Today our children are forming those same images in their minds, based on boring textbooks and teachers that have only a borderline knowledge of Washington, or that matter an interest. Had I been fortunate enough to have had a book like this several decades ago, my understanding and interest in Washington would have been remarkably different than the lifeless, waxwork image that most of us have.

Chernow makes George Washington come alive, and how grateful we should be for this. Every few years a new book comes out on our country's first President, each one is pronounced the definitive one, and yet next year there is another one. What differentiates Chernow from all of the rest is his capacity to convey a living human being with an emotional life, something no other author has been able to do so far.

First, let's discuss the mechanics of the book. Without the footnotes and index, we are looking at 817 pages printed with a small font. It's a big heavy...

United States on Oct 06, 2010