Yet Washington understood the historic moment and his place in it and seized it for the better, much to our nation's historic benefit. The new nation had no tradition of democracy and would have gladly welcomed their war hero - our first true national celebrity - as a welcomed benign sovereign chastened by a revolutionary re-definition of the relationship of power between ruler and ruled. It is quite obvious that had Washington chosen to serve as an enlightened King (of which many understood there was no such thing), he could have with widespread support. He truly was a man of disciplined self-control who understood throughout his life that his place in history would be solely judged by how he responded to guiding the post-British new nation. It's impossible to not be in awe of Washington, who, unlike many great men throughout history, failed to control ambition and its interaction with the achievement of great power. While no where near the depth of Chernow's tome, Ellis covers all the main themes of Washington's life from youth, to bumbling but ambitious officer in the French and Indians wars, to much-maligned, beleaguered Revolutionary war hero, to his service as President - and truly father of his new nation - for the first two terms of the new federal government (whose survival was by no means guaranteed). Initially I preferred Chernow's book, but as I started to compare the two for interpretation, Ellis's gorgeous narrative writing quickly won me over. Presidents, I began with this and Ron Chernow's behemoth "Washington: A Life," a far more comprehensive treatment.
As part of my 2-year quest to read the top two biographies of each of our 43 U.S.
This was the first of two books I'm currently reading about George Washington.
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