AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AN NPR CONCIERGE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
"In her form-shattering and myth-crushing book....Coe examines myths
with mirth, and writes history with humor... [You Never Forget Your
First] is an accessible look at a president who always finishes in the
first ranks of our leaders." --Boston Globe
Alexis Coe takes a closer look at our first--and finds he is not quite
the man we remember
Young George Washington was raised by a struggling single mother,
demanded military promotions, caused an international incident, and
never backed down--even when his dysentery got so bad he had to ride
with a cushion on his saddle. But after he married Martha, everything
changed. Washington became the kind of man who named his dog Sweetlips
and hated to leave home. He took up arms against the British only when
there was no other way, though he lost more battles than he won.
After an unlikely victory in the Revolutionary War cast him as the
nation's hero, he was desperate to retire, but the founders pressured
him into the presidency--twice. When he retired years later, no one
talked him out of it. He left the highest office heartbroken over the
partisan nightmare his backstabbing cabinet had created.
Back on his plantation, the man who fought for liberty must confront his
greatest hypocrisy--what to do with the men, women, and children he
owns--before he succumbs to death.
With irresistible style and warm humor, You Never Forget Your First
combines rigorous research and lively storytelling that will have
readers--including those who thought presidential biographies were just
for dads--inhaling every page.
