A fascinating and illuminating account of how George Washington
became the dominant force in the creation of the United States of
America, from award-winning author David O. Stewart
"An outstanding biography . . . [George Washington] has a narrative
drive such a life deserves."--The Wall Street Journal
Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in
history. In his mid-twenties, this third son of a modest Virginia
planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego.
But by his mid-forties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved
into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the
fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-fifties, he was unanimously
elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the
wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of
America?
In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O.
Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master
politician--and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House
of Burgesses, where Washington mastered the craft and timing of a
practicing politician, to his management of local government as a
justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second
Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American
Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service,
earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed
along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic
as he fought to unify the new nation.
