Review of
Instaread Summary of Washington A Life by Ron Chernow
Five out of five stars
This summary
could serve as a synopsis of the life of George Washington for a course in
American history. It contains the essence of Washington, from his weaknesses as
an unimaginative military commander to his high integrity in resigning his commission
at the end of the victorious war with the British. George Washington set the
basis for much of the role of the presidency in the United States, his refusal
to run for a third term set an unwritten principle that took 150 years and the
Second World War to modify.
To the credit
of the author of the summary, there is mention of the moral ambivalence that
Washington felt regarding slavery. While he believed that it was part of the
natural order and his birthright as a property-owning white male, he refused to
engage in some of the more cruel practices. For example, he did not split slave
families up at auction and he freed all his slaves in his will.
George
Washington had his faults, but he was a giant in both physical stature and
deeds. It was his steady guidance at the helm of state that melded the United
States into a country, while others were far more theoretical, his practicality
in governing kept the nation together in the early years. That approach to the
presidency is captured very well in this summary.
This book was made available for free for review
purposes.
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