His Excellency: George Washington

Book Description

To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the Revolutionary era. Training his lens on a figure who sometimes seems as remote as his effigy on Mount Rushmore, Ellis assesses George Washington as a military and political leader and a man whose “statue-like solidity” concealed volcanic energies and emotions.

Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to English merchants instilled him with a prickly resentment of imperial power. We see the general who lost more battles than he won and the reluctant president who tried to float above the partisan feuding of his cabinet. His Excellency is a magnificent work, indispensable to an understanding not only of its subject but also of the nation he brought into being.

Customer Reviews:

Good, but not great........2007-09-21

This is an entertaining and enjoyable book, but the psychoanalysis of George Washington left something to be desired. At several places, the author relies on tidbits of information to making sweeping generalizations regarding Washington, why he succeeded, or his motivations. This would not have so severely affected my rating, but for the fact that on more than one occasion, the author quickly reversed course.

For example, when trying to explain why, near the beginning of the Revolution, George Washington was better situated than any of his peers to lead the Americans to victory, Joseph Ellis tells us that George Washington was a realist who fully recognized that Divine Providence did not guarantee victory. Only a few pages later, commenting on George Washington's forbearance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, Joseph Ellis tells us that the George Washington's internally sustaining force was his belief in, yep, Divine Providence.

It may be a quibble, but this example early in the book, left me doubtful of Mr. Ellis's explanations for other aspects of George Washington's character and the underlying rationale for some of his actions. At times, Mr. Ellis may have pressed too hard to generalize from single letters or comments. Perhaps Washington was uniquely realistic in assessing the chances for success and also believed in Divine Providence, but Mr. Ellis did a poor job of acknolwedging both these aspects and, presumably, the tension even within Washington.

I also thought Ellis went a bit far with his "Fabian" and "Cinncinatus" analogies. The repetition towards the end of the book became irksome and, again, seemed Ellis was trying too hard to fit evidence into preconceived categories.

The book was quite informative and engaging. It is clear that Joseph Ellis reveres the man, but this usually did not cause him to shy from recounting Washington's failings, including those of character. Importantly, I think Ellis does a good job of providing enough factual context to let the reader make some judgments. Some other reviewers appear to claim this is a hatchet job, but my view is that it is anything but. Unflattering facts are revealed, but Ellis was, in my view, more quick to explain them away than he needed to be. George Washington was a man, not a god. Ellis's portrait captures that distinction without denigrating Washington or his considerable influence on the making of the United States of America.

In short, Ellis paints a convincing portrait of an ambitious man with a tremendous ability both to lead men and to persevere in the face of adversity. Washington does seem to have had enormous concern regarding his legacy, but this is not a bad thing. As an example, if Mr. Ellis's portrayal is accurate, George Washington's concern for legacy was a driving factor in his decision to free his slaves in his will. Likewise, while Mr. Ellis seems to indicate that George Washington tried to burnish his reputation for high character by revising certain details of his early life, his desire to be revered also led him to act in conformance with the image he strove to create. In other words, while Washington did not always act with honor while young, his growing concern for legacy provided additional pressure, if not motivation, for his rightly renowned decision to relinquish power and, too, smaller acts of honor. Washington, to some degree, became the man he wished to be perceived to be. Joseph Ellis did not paint a flat caricature of the man, but provided a three-dimensional, if sometimes flawed, portrait of one of the most important men in the history of the United States.

I recommend this book.

Washington the Man.......2007-09-20

Ellis' George Washington is a rich narrative of a largely unknowable man. Washington is a 21st century biographers nightmare because he was not as irascible as John Adams nor did he have the flirtatious dalliances of a Thomas Jefferson or a Benjamin Franklin. Washington instead appears like a statute whom historians and psychohistorians cannot even begin to clear away the patina to get a good glimpse of the inner man. Ellis attempts this and concludes that while Jefferson theorized, Washington just mainly survived. In this he is anomaly because the critical period of American history can not be imagined without him, yet progressives and revisionists have ignored him. While Adams and Jefferson wrote more about republican and democratic theory, Washington never allowed anything close to the passage of the Alien and Sedition Act nor the Embargo Act. An oversimplification of this interplay is that while most of the founders talked, Washington acted and essentially achieved the results that he wanted. In what is probably the highlight of the book, Ellis presents Washington heading off the Newburg Conspiracy which was formed by disgruntled officers designed to hijack the burgeoning republic in it's cradle. After placating his soldiers Washington never wavers from his bedrock principle of Republicanism tempered with a harsh realism. Overall Ellis' Washington is a man who acted upon what he believed and saved the infant republic several times over. Probably his greatest sin, in the eyes of the professional historian, was that he never much talked about what he did, but I think he can be forgiven for that rather unfortunate oversight.

His Excellency: George Washington.......2007-09-06

A marvelous read of the genesis of our great nation!! Joseph J. Ellis is a fantastic author. How exciting American History could be if only taught as Ellis writes!

Great History Book.......2007-08-11

Joseph J. Ellis kept in mind while writing "His Excellency" that there could only be one man to fit in the shoes of a democratic government (as we know it) and it was George Washington. I also learned so much about the greatness of this man and how he had to overcome such criticism and failure before changing how people live not only in the US but in the world.

This book pretty much let's you know that Washington was not perfect by any means. We was living and working for the ages. He wasn't a great General either, but he tested the hand of time and defied it in many ways.

I highly recommend this book.

Fair to good. Is there a skunk in the early analysis, such as on Jumonville?.......2007-08-08

A good bio, fair to good. An author should hedge pretty constant to a view of George Washington as a hero, my preference.

I thought I detected something smelly in the description of Washington's early military career, for example in the death of Jumonville. There's nothing direct in the text, it's more crafty and insidious (eg "murder" in the same paragraph with George's name, his supposed lifelong rationalization over these early incidents, etc), which reviewing just now opinions of earlier reviewers I'm glad to see they've suspicioned out as well. Replace George's name with Ellis', change the incident to Vietnam war record falsification and what you seem to get is the author's apology for how his own biographical fraud occurred. If this is so, it's fair to bring this up, and I resent how incidents from the great man's life seems to be used to explain how a rationalization like this comes about. If it's not, some changes in future editions would help keep readers away from the unintentional linkage. "Look, I'm flawed too, just like the great Washington was" Ellis seems to say. Hold your nose past the author's need to explain himself through Washington in the early part, and you get a good biography otherwise.

Average customer rating:

Good book, not quite great
intriguing and unconventional, but not at all holistic
Great biography!
Fair portrayal
Excellent book

His Excellency: George Washington
Joseph J. Ellis
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400040310
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Book Description

The author of seven highly acclaimed books, Joseph J. Ellis has crafted a landmark biography that brings to life in all his complexity the most important and perhaps least understood figure in American history, George Washington. With his careful attention to detail and his lyrical prose, Ellis has set a new standard for biography.

Drawing from the newly catalogued Washington papers at the University of Virginia, Joseph Ellis paints a full portrait of George Washington’s life and career–from his military years through his two terms as president. Ellis illuminates the difficulties the first executive confronted as he worked to keep the emerging country united in the face of adversarial factions. He richly details Washington’s private life and illustrates the ways in which it influenced his public persona. Through Ellis’s artful narration, we look inside Washington’s marriage and his subsequent entrance into the upper echelons of Virginia’s plantation society. We come to understand that it was by managing his own large debts to British merchants that he experienced firsthand the imperiousness of the British Empire. And we watch the evolution of his attitude toward slavery, which led to his emancipating his own slaves in his will. Throughout, Ellis peels back the layers of myth and uncovers for us Washington in the context of eighteenth-century America, allowing us to comprehend the magnitude of his accomplishments and the character of his spirit and mind.

When Washington died in 1799, Ellis tells us, he was eulogized as “first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Since then, however, his image has been chisled onto Mount Rushmore and printed on the dollar bill. He is on our landscape and in our wallets but not, Ellis argues, in our hearts. Ellis strips away the ivy and legend that have grown up over the Washington statue and recovers the flesh-and-blood man in all his passionate and fully human prowess.

In the pantheon of our republic’s founders, there were many outstanding individuals. And yet each of them–Franklin, Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison– acknowledged Washington to be his superior, the only indispensable figure, the one and only “His Excellency.” Both physically and politically, Washington towered over his peers for reasons this book elucidates. His Excellency is a full, glorious, and multifaceted portrait of the man behind our country’s genesis, sure to become the authoritative biography of George Washington for many decades.

Amazon.com

As commander of the Continental army, George Washington united the American colonies, defeated the British army, and became the world's most famous man. But how much do Americans really know about their first president? Today, as Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph J. Ellis says in this crackling biography, Americans see their first president on dollar bills, quarters, and Mount Rushmore, but only as "an icon--distant, cold, intimidating." In truth, Washington was a deeply emotional man, but one who prized and practiced self-control (an attribute reinforced during his years on the battlefield).

Washington first gained recognition as a 21-year-old emissary for the governor of Virginia, braving savage conditions to confront encroaching French forces. As the de facto leader of the American Revolution, he not only won the country's independence, but helped shape its political personality and "topple the monarchical and aristocratic dynasties of the Old World." When the Congress unanimously elected him president, Washington accepted reluctantly, driven by his belief that the union's very viability depended on a powerful central government. In fact, keeping the country together in the face of regional allegiances and the rise of political parties may be his greatest presidential achievement.

Based on Washington's personal letters and papers, His Excellency is smart and accessible--not to mention relatively brief, in comparison to other encyclopedic presidential tomes. Ellis's short, succinct sentences speak volumes, allowing readers to glimpse the man behind the myth. --Andy Boynton

Amazon.com Exclusive Content
Curious about George?
Amazon.com reveals a few facts about the legendary first president of the United States.

Washington bust by Jean Antoine Houdon.
Courtesy of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Assoc.

1. The famous tale about Washington chopping down the cherry tree ("Father, I cannot tell a lie") is a complete fabrication.

2. George Washington never threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River--in fact, to do so from the shore of his Mount Vernon home would have been physically impossible.

3. George Washington did not wear wooden teeth. His poorly fitting false teeth were in fact made of cow's teeth, human teeth, and elephant ivory set in a lead base.

4. Early in his life, Washington was himself a slave owner. His opinions changed after he commanded a multiracial army in the Revolutionary War. He eventually came to recognize slavery as "a massive American anomaly."

5. In 1759, having resigned as Virginia's military commander to become a planter, Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis. Washington's marriage to the colony's wealthiest widow dramatically changed his life, catapulting him into Virginia aristocracy.

6. Scholars have discredited suggestions that Washington's marriage to Martha lacked passion, as well as the provocative implications of the well-worn phrase "George Washington slept here."

7. Washington held his first public office when he was 17 years old, as surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia.

8. At age 20, despite no prior military experience, Washington was appointed an adjutant in the Virginia militia, in which he oversaw several militia companies, and was assigned the rank of major.

9. As a Virginia aristocrat, Washington ordered all his coats, shirts, pants, and shoes from London. However, most likely due to the misleading instructions he gave his tailor, the suits almost never fit. Perhaps this is why he appears in an old military uniform in his 1772 portrait.

10. In 1751, during a trip to Barbados with his half-brother Lawrence, Washington was stricken with smallpox and permanently scarred. Fortunately, this early exposure made him immune to the disease that would wipe out colonial troops during the Revolutionary War.

Timeline
Important dates in George Washington's life.

Engraving of Mount Vernon, 1804. Courtesy of the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Assoc.

1732: George Washington is born at his father's estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

1743: George's father, Augustine Washington, dies.

1752: At age 20, despite the fact that he has never served in the military, Washington is appointed adjutant in the Virginia militia, with the rank of major.

1753: As an emissary to Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, he travels to the Ohio River Valley to confront French forces--the first of a series of encounters that would lead to the French and Indian War.

1755: Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of Virginia's militia.

1759: He marries wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis.

1774: Washington is elected to the First Continental Congress.

1775: He is unanimously elected by the Continental Congress as its army's commander-in-chief. Start of the American Revolution.

1776: On Christmas Day, Washington leads his army across the Delaware River and launches a successful attack against Hessian troops in Trenton, New Jersey.

1781: With the French, he defeats British troops in Yorktown, Virginia, precipitating the end of the war.

1783: The Revolutionary War officially ends.

1788: The Constitution is ratified.

1789: Washington is elected president.

1797: He fulfills his last term as president.

1799: Washington dies on December 14, sparking a period of national mourning.

Customer Reviews:

Good book, not quite great.......2007-09-05

I liked the idea that the author tried to cover all of Washington's life. I didn't like that he tried to keep it in a shorter format. There was scarce detail about his leadership in the Revolutionary War and I really didn't learn a great deal about how his presidency -- the all-important and precedent setting first presidency -- went. I did learn a lot about the scheming of rivals and the evolution of the two party system, and a great deal about Washington and his thoughts on slavery. I actually learned more about Washington as a military leader from Benson Bobrick's "Angel in the Whirlwind" than I did from this book. I would have been more than willing to have read a couple more hundred pages, if necessary, in order to gain a fuller picture of the man and his military and political leadership. It was nice that it was not too lengthy, but when you're covering a topic this expansive, sometimes there's hardly a thing as "too long." It was a good book, and certainly worth reading, but I can't imagine there's not better resources out there somewhere.

intriguing and unconventional, but not at all holistic.......2007-08-02

The image of George Washington the idol, the statesman, the restrained aristocrat, and the ideal president has always permeated society to some extent. While Joseph J. Ellis feels some of his reputation survives because of Washington's actual character, he also believes much of the legacy surrounding the man is mere legend. While any historical study should certainly look to the past with a skeptical and objective eye, Ellis attempts to deconstruct so much of Washington's reputation that it often feels like he's skimming over many of the important aspects of Washington that made him truly great. As a result, "His Excellency" doesn't read like an objective biography, but rather like a skeptical revisionist's history of a man who is widely respected and revered. This is not to say it's a worthless read or an unscholarly diatribe; Ellis' work is a thorough, intriguing study of Washington, it's just not a holistic, timeless biographical portrait.

Ellis immediately skips past the majority of Washington's childhood, jumping directly to the French and Indian War as a starting point. This in itself feels rushed and, while Ellis does effectively illustrate Washington's transition from immature twenty-somethingness to restrained manhood, he fails to illustrate any notable backdrop of childhood and adolescence. From the French and Indian War up until the end of the Revolutionary War Ellis' portrait of Washington focuses mostly on his motivations in private life, which Ellis views as being based in self-interest and desire for land and economic wealth. These were most definitely motivations of Washington, but Ellis spends so much time on these that all of the other considerations seem either ignored or deemed false. The second half of the book, focusing on Washington's post-war achievements, discusses "the man" of Washington through the same lens of self-interest. This time, however, Ellis talks with relation to the public, political realm. While it is interesting to examine Washington's self-interested motivations in either light, once again, Ellis' depiction feels rushed and narrow.

Right from the beginning it seemed obvious that Ellis was painting a much more skeptically speculative than objective interpretation of Washington as a man, but it seems as though Ellis himself believes this book is a happy medium between revisionism and idolatry. I trust that Ellis' intention in writing the work was to be highly objective and void of any revisionist tones, but in the extent Ellis speculates extensively on obscure quotes and instances while breezing over the traditional milestones we all know, one senses that Ellis is exaggerating minute, whether true or not, aspects of Washington while ignoring the other vital events, motivations, spiritual leanings, and characteristics that made up the man.

On a more positive note, Ellis' research and speculation is fascinating and often convincing, his writing style is also fluid and highly readable; this somewhat made up for the lack of a complete angle at Washington, and provided for an enjoyable reading experience despite my disappointments in the area of "focus". Many Washington fanatics may actually appreciate the work for the exact same reasons I didn't. This is the first biography I've read solely discussing the character of Washington in any significant depth, and after Ellis' reassurance in the preface that this was not an attempt at revision or extensive speculation I was eager to pursue the study. This was simply not what I took to be the reality of his writing.

If they had a 3 1/2 star rating, that is what I would've given this book. I must simply say that if one has the time and desire to read only one biography of Washington, this may not be the best choice. It is interesting and worthwhile in an out of the ordinary, academic-pursuit way, but I felt it was no where near a holistic view of Washington's character. For the history reader that only wishes to read one book on Washington I would look elsewhere; for the Washington buff that wants a specific, unconventional speculation of the man, Ellis' work may turn out to be quite appealing.

Great biography!.......2007-07-25

This is my first biography on George Washington, and I readily devoured this book. As the de facto leader of the American Revolution, he united the American colonies, defeated the British, won the country's independence, and became the world's most famous man during his time.

The author did a good job at portraying Washington as a mere mortal, though, with all-too-human qualities, rather than as a saint or superhuman. I learnt new facts about Washington that I never knew.

(1) George Washington was one of the richest Americans of his time! This was revealed when his will was drawn. He owned huge plots of land and over 200 slaves. However, he had the assets but not liquid money, which he was always short off. He watched over his accounts with a ruthless eye. For example, when he discovered that some settlers had settled on his land, he took them to court and eventually won!

(2) George Washington was the first and only president to lead an army and go into battle during his office term.

(3) Washington was always conscious of death. His family all died before the age of 50, and he always felt that his time had come. The thought of death was always looming in his head.

(4) Washington regarded his slaves as assets and was not eager to free them. In fact, when any of them ran away he made sure to find them! It was only in his will that he finally ordered his estate to free his slaves after his death (on December 14, 1799). The author leaves the reader confused as to why Washington did not free his slaves during his lifetime, since he eventually came to recognize slavery as "a massive American anomaly."

(5) After defeating the British, Washington could have taken over the country for himself. Instead, he went into retirement. When Congress unanimously elected him president, he accepted reluctantly. He was also pressured into serving a second term against his wishes. Though he was encouraged to run for a third term, he declined the offer.

(6) His life story showed me that even great men have opponents. He faced criticism and ridicule throughout his career by many of his own contemporaries. Many were very harsh towards him accusing him of senility and of being a dictator. But unlike Napoleon or King George of England, he had no aspirations of becoming king or emperor, and I was quite impressed by that. His aim was to maintain the independence of his new country, and to avoid any swing towards monarchy.

(7) It was in 1781 with the help of General Lafayette's French army that Washington was finally able to defeat the British. Vive la France!

(8) George Washington is famous for his false teeth.

(9) Washington was not a tactician. He lost many battles and made a lot of blunders. For example, his decision to fight the English in Canada, where most of his troops died of disease and starvation, and ended up eating their horses and returning home without shoes!

(10) He was sympathetic towards the native Indians. He often said that they were like him, fighting for independence. He strongly believed that treaties with them should be honored (they never were).

(11) Washington's amazing career was driven by self-interest. Ellis suggests that nearly every decision Washington made was based on some selfish desire to further his economic standing. Everything Washington did, Ellis claims, was based on greed and lust for recognition and wealth. Ellis paints the portrait of a bitter, violent, selfish, and greedy Washington. He states that Washington's men were frequently beaten and occasionally executed when any disobeyed orders or defected. He was very aware of his place in history and he chose his actions with an eye toward what people would think of him in the future. It is difficult to know for certain what he truly believed, and what he just said or wrote for posterity.

(12) Washington did not believe in a heaven or hell.

After reading this book, I ordered all DVDs about George Washington. The author really encouraged me to know more about this great man who despite the power he wielded, did not succumb to it and never wanted to be king! Not many possessing such power would have done the same.

I now better understand the man I never really knew. It was a real pleasure getting to know him.

This is a great book and I highly recommend it!

Fair portrayal.......2007-06-09

I felt the book is a fair portrayal of Washington as a human and gives the reader a new insight into the person. Mr. Ellis tries to take a man which has become a myth in his own time and deconstruct him to see what makes him tick. What did he find; Washington was a man like any of us, making his decisions based on what's good for his bank account, and putting in strategic moves for the future. We must remember that in that time people put in work to collect decades later, unlike today.

This is an overview of Washington's life, the important decisions he made and why did he make them. Mr. Ellis' research is well founded; his speculations and premises make logical sense and put a new light on old tales.

Are Mr. Ellis' assumptions correct?
Who know, but isn't that half the fun or reading history books, to make your own assumptions, theories and hypothesis and see if the author agrees with you.

Don't be afraid to read this book, you will come away with a great appreciation and admiration to Washington because, not despite, he was a human being and not a super-man.

Excellent book.......2007-04-25

This was an exellent book about an amazing man of which we owe our country too. Mr. Ellis' writing as that of a great story. There were parts in this book that were very moving to me personally such as Washington's retirement as commander in chief and his life after the presidency. This book provided a clear conception of knowing Washington personally. I was very pleased with the many writtings regarding slavery and how this issued was a very dividing one that Washington decided to table for years as it would have ripped the infant nation apart as it had done during the civil war. It was good to see how Washington did struggle with this moral issue ultimatly freeing his (legally owned) slaves upon his death. Many precedents were set by Washington's first term. This book gives great insights of the politics and early party formations at the beginning of our democracy. This autobiography gives a very good picture of Washington's leadership skills during the Revolutionary War. And it gives insights as to why Washington turned to independence after trying so hard to emulate English aristocracy before the War - namely economic reasons. It gives details of his early life and personal love affair and his wife. It showed how Washington, an uneducate man primarily learned through his failures and experience to become a great leader. It speaks in lengths about Washington's strengths and weakness. One thing I found was how Madison and more so Jefferson were villified as betraying Washington in his second term as president. This is a great read about one of over most important figures in US history usually forgotten about.

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This digital document is an article from Ethics & International Affairs, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1002 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: The Killing Trap: Genocide in the Twentieth Century.(Book review)
Author: Maureen S. Hiebert
Publication: Ethics & International Affairs (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Page: 533(2)

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