George Washington: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: As good a single volume on the Father as you will find
Review: A brisk, but not too brief account of Washington and the times surrounding him. Alden touches on most every event and aspect concerning the subject: from Shay's Rebellion to Martha's disposition, from the Hamilton-Jefferson Feud to his agricultural experiments. It is objective without trying to debunk a great man. Only the cursory discussion on slavery does the junvenile yankee condescention surface (Whose ships were involved in the slave trade even after the Virginians pushed through its ban via the Constitution? Yankees ie the Great Hypocrites of All Time.) It is, however, a thorough and interesting biography and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of biographies out there on General & President
Review: Washington. This is a pretty good one. It's value to me was Washington as a colonial officer under British generals during the French-Indian War. It is essential as this was the making of the man & frames everything that comes after.
A stupid blunder, of so many by the British after defeating the French was the denial of Washington a generalship in the regular British military establishment. It was the one thing that he wanted or ever would want more in his whole life. Mr. Alden explains why Washington or any colonial could not hope for a career in the regular army. It chilled me to think of the course of American history & world history if Washington had remained a loyal British subject. Our history without Washington is hard to imagine. There was no one even close to his stature in America. So he did become a general after all. The rest of the book is well done. Good reading for someone not too familiar with the first president, with a little revolutionary era history thrown in.