George Washington: The Wonder of the Age

by John Rhodehamel

Overview

Discover the man behind the myth: “The only Washington biography you need…Crisply written, admirably concise, and never superficial.”—TheWall Street Journal

As editor of the award-winning Library of America collection of George Washington’s writings and a curator of the great man’s original papers, John Rhodehamel has established himself as an authority of our nation’s preeminent founding father and first president. In this book, Rhodehamel examines George Washington as a public figure, arguing that the man—who first achieved fame in his early twenties—is inextricably bound to his mythic status. Solidly grounded in Washington’s papers and exemplary in its brevity, this approachable biography is a superb introduction to the leader whose name has become synonymous with America.
 
“A highly entertaining book…The powdered wig, the silly pants, the poker face staring out from crumpled dollar bills: All serve to separate us from our founding father. Rhodehamel’s urgency of prose restores the connection. He also showcases his experience as the former archivist of Mount Vernon by bringing manuscript sources directly to the reader.”—TheNew York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300229899
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	364
Sales rank:	606,020
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

John Rhodehamel is the former archivist of Mount Vernon and curator of American historical manuscripts at the Huntington Library. He is editor of George Washington: Writings and the American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence, 1775-1783. He lives in Newport Beach, California.

Table of Contents

1 Look Around You 1

2 Powerful Ambitions, Powerful Friends 11

3 War for North America 31

4 The Rise of George Washington 61

5 "Because We Are Americans" 101

6 Winter Soldier 123

7 Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth 147

8 The Great Man: Yorktown, Newburgh, and Annapolis 173

9 "The Destiny of Unborn Millions" 193

10 "On Untrodden Ground": The First Term 219

11 The Age of Passion: The Second Term 263

12 "The Debt Which All Must Pay" 293

Notes 303

Index 333

Editorial Reviews

Rhodehamel's jaunty writing makes for a highly entertaining book…Washington's story benefits from a vigorous telling. The powdered wig, the silly pants, the poker face staring out from crumpled dollar bills: All serve to separate us from our founding father. Rhodehamel's urgency of prose restores the connection. He also showcases his experience as the former archivist of Mount Vernon by bringing manuscript sources directly to the reader.

The New York Times Book Review - Michael O'Donnell

The only Washington biography you need. . . . Crisply written, admirably concise, and never superficial. As a brief account of Washington’s life, it is unlikely to be surpassed for many years.”—Fergus M. Bordewich, Wall Street Journal

"In his new biography of Washington, John Rhodehamel eloquently describes the founding father's 'deliberate creation of the public character that gave him the moral authority to lead the quarrelsome collection of former colonies into sturdy nationhood.'"—Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal

"[George Washington] stands out for its rich prose, . . . [and] Rhodehamel’s jaunty writing makes for a highly entertaining book. . . . Washington’s story benefits from a vigorous telling. The powdered wig, the silly pants, the poker face staring out from crumpled dollar bills: All serve to separate us from our founding father. Rhodehamel’s urgency of prose restores the connection. He also showcases his experience as the former archivist of Mount Vernon by bringing manuscript sources directly to the reader."—Michael O’Donnell, New York Times Book Review

"George Washington: The Wonder of the Age, by John Rhodehamel, is a masterpiece, a concise, fluidly written and well-grounded biography. Rhodehamel, who edited two highly acclaimed books for the renowned Library of America series of great American writers (one, naturally, of Washington's writings and the other of writings from the American Revolution), has executed an accurate and revealing portrait of a man who, more than any other, made possible the creation and subsequent success of the United States."—Steve Forbes, Forbes magazine

"[A] brief and balanced, yet stirring, look at Washington's life in under 400 pages."—Edward Achorn, Weekly Standard

"A splendid single-volume biography of Washington. Rhodehamel captures him and his accomplishments as well as anyone can. A smooth and interesting read."—Mark  Mastromarino, former editor, The Papers of George Washington, University of Virginia

"The interpretation is profound, clear and well-stated, and the author is certainly an expert on George Washington, worthy of tackling the problem of writing a short biography of the long, complicated, and monumental life of the most important founder of the United States."—Douglas Bradburn, Founding Director, The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. Mount Vernon, Virginia

"John Rhodehamel has written an authoritative and well-rounded biography of the great man and made him and his very different world clearly accessible to us."—Gordon Wood, Professor of History Emeritus, Brown University,  GSW

"John Rhodehamel, who has written many books about George Washington, here conveys his deepest and most enduring view of the man. In strong, straightforward prose, he tells Washington’s extraordinary story, without bravura flourishes or exaggerations. It is a memorable reading experience."—Thomas Fleming, author of The Great Divide: The Conflict Between Washington and Jefferson That Defined a Nation

From the Publisher

In his new biography of Washington, John Rhodehamel eloquently describes the founding father’s ‘deliberate creation of the public character that gave him the moral authority to lead the quarrelsome collection of former colonies into sturdy nationhood.’”—Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal - Bret Stephens

[Rhodehamel’s] sympathetic, though not uncritical, account of the first president’s journey from minor Tidewater gentry to mythic statesman is crisply written, admirably concise and never superficial. As a brief account of Washington’s life, it is unlikely to be surpassed for many years.”—Fergus M. Bordewich, Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal - Fergus M. Bordewich

The only Washington biography you need. . . . [Rhodehamel’s] sympathetic, though not uncritical, account of the first president’s journey from minor Tidewater gentry to mythic statesman is crisply written, admirably concise, and never superficial. As a brief account of Washington’s life, it is unlikely to be surpassed for many years.”—Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal

John Rhodehamel has written an authoritative and well-rounded biography of the great man and made him and his very different world clearly accessible to us.”—Gordon Wood, Professor of History Emeritus, Brown University,  GSW

Gordon Wood

The interpretation is profound, clear and well-stated, and the author is certainly an expert on George Washington, worthy of tackling the problem of writing a short biography of the long, complicated, and monumental life of the most important founder of the United States.”—Douglas Bradburn, Founding Director, The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. Mount Vernon, Virginia

Douglas Bradburn

A splendid single-volume biography of Washington. Rhodehamel captures him and his accomplishments as well as anyone can. A smooth and interesting read.”—Mark  Mastromarino, former editor, The Papers of George Washington, University of Virginia

Mark Mastromarino

"John Rhodehamel, who has written many books about George Washington, here conveys his deepest and most enduring view of the man. In strong, straightforward prose, he tells Washington’s extraordinary story, without bravura flourishes or exaggerations. It is a memorable reading experience."—Thomas Fleming, author of The Great Divide: The Conflict Between Washington and Jefferson That Defined a Nation

Thomas Fleming

Audiobook listeners have dozens of fine biographies of George Washington to choose from, but Rhodehamel’s concise account excels in its fascinating and reliable details. Narrator Joe Barrett’s gravelly delivery may initially sound miscast. But as is the case with the distinctive voices of the vintage radio years, that bit of abrasion suggests honesty, integrity, and a lack of affectation, qualities that in turn define Rhodehamel’s portrait of Washington. Today, Washington so often seems a remote and stoical, even stolid, figure. But viewed close up through his public and private behavior, papers, and speech, Washington emerges once again as the key figure in the making of our nation, and an exemplar of political character and forbearance that has no equal. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2017 - AudioFile