[.ca] Washington The Indispensible Man (ISBN 0316286168)

Very good, but not quite as spectacular as I had hoped:
This is a very solid biography, but I have to say that it just failed to be brilliant. I had seen it listed several places as a very good one-volume biography, but it clearly feels like a biography from an earlier, more genteel generation. There are very few probing questions about Washington as a person, and a respectful distance from the subject is maintained at all times. This is a one-volume distillation from a multi-volume work undertaken by the author. The very famous biography by Doughlas Freeman is also available in a one-volume abridgement, but that one was not done by the author, and therefore represents the editor's and not the author's belief about what is most essential in the book. So curiously, while the Freeman biography in its unabridged form may still be the definitive biography of Washington in English, this abridgement by Flexner of his longer work may be preferable as a short biography.

Should be mandatory from high school to citizenship classes:
The passing of time, unnecessary mythologizing and more recently bitter revisionism all have served to obscure and distort this giant of the Revolution. So much of what we are today we owe to this man who placed service to duty above his desires. But who was he....really? Not an aristocrat, nor the descendant of one. Self made to be certain. Expansive and curious like so many others of his age. Placed by history time and time again exactly where his unique qualities and experiences could have the greatest influence. To use a term of the times, "Providential". Not a great general in the classic sense. He had trouble protecting his flanks and only fought 9 battles, winning only 3. But he held the army together. A brillaint executive he could divine the talents of others and empowered where they could have the greatest effect. Humble (the rarest of all leadership qualities any more), gracious, focused, unbending and determined in resolve. He transcended regional differences yet could not stop, nor perhaps did he even see how those differences were on a collision course to civil war long before it came. If only he could have imparted his tolerance and wisdom to his proteges perhaps north and south could have co existed, or separated peacefully. Can one one book really convey all this? This one does. This is Washington with a clarity that only a great writer and a great scholar could deliver. My only disappointment was the lack of footnotes and a bibliography.

Masterfully written, massively informative:
George Washington: Born: February 22, 1732, Pope's Creek, near Fredericksburg, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Parents: Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. Education: private. Married: 1759, Mrs. Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802), two stepchildren. Career: surveyor; farmer; soldier; member, Virginia House of Burgesses, 1759-1774; member, Continental Congress, 1774-75; commander-in-chief, Continental Army, 1775-1783; president, Constitutional Convention, 1787; first President of the United States of America, 1789-1797. Died: December 14, 1799, Mount Vernon, Virginia. The above list of Washington's accomplishments leaves out a few things, but I am willing to bet it looks more impressive than most people's resumes. Even the other founding fathers cannot assemble a list of such august positions. Head of the Revolutionary War effort? Head of the Constitutional Convention? The first President of the United States of America? Good luck Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin! Repeatedly, the man of the hour during the revolutionary period and the subsequent formation of the government was George Washington. I recently decided to read a biography of this fascinating figure, a man who most consider the father of the nation. Happily, and wisely, as it turned out, I picked non-academic historian James Thomas Flexner's biography of Washington, a one-volume distillation of an enormous four-volume treatment written during the 1960s and early 1970s. Entitled "Washington: The Indispensable Man," the author tackles the complexity of our nation's patriarch with infinitely readable prose stretched across fifty-two short chapters. The author himself notes that biographies of Washington "are as innumerable as the leaves in a forest," with many of them falling into three categories: "the historically sound, the goody-goody, and the debunking." Flexner's biography occasionally falls under all three of these rubrics. Interest in Washington tends to center on his military career. A good portion of the book deals with his lengthy service in arms, from his association with the British in the French-Indian War, his work securing Virginia's frontier from marauding Indian bands, and his role as commander-in-chief of the American Army during the Revolutionary War. Washington saw a lot of action during these various campaigns, winning respect as a man who could ride into combat without getting hit with a bullet. More importantly, Flexner reveals that Washington the general was not a very effective tactician. He continually lost campaigns due to a lack of knowledge about then current strategies of warfare. His campaign with General Braddock ended in disaster, his attempts to stave off Indians more or less failed, and his victories in the colonial revolution often arose from a combination of unorthodox ideas, aid from the French, and a propensity to promote officers based on merit and not social status. The last point is one of the most important, according to Flexner, because it not only went against European ideas about promoting officers but also was an ability Washington applied to his presidency and other areas of his life. Washington ultimately spent more time bombarding the perennially broke Congress with requests for financial aid and trying to keep his soldiers in the army than he did duking it out with the British. Most of Washington's life was spent oscillating between Mount Vernon and public service. He loved to spend his days working on his sprawling estate, buying land, developing a canal project on the Potomac River, and experimenting with crops and breeding mules. He designed the architectural style of Mount Vernon, entertained hundreds of guests, and refused to sell his slaves because he did not like the idea of splitting up black families. He was quite the ladies man, always enjoying the company of lovely young woman with whom he liked to flirt. As much as Washington enjoyed other people's company, he often sank into despondent moods where he worried about death and illness. The conclusion of the book, where Flexner describes the father of the country on his deathbed at his beloved Mount Vernon, is one of the most eloquent pieces of history I have ever read. Public service often found Washington at the center of the great issues of the time. Flexner argues that Washington was a centrist, always attempting to draw divergent viewpoints together based on common ground. He did this in time of war, as head of the Constitutional Convention, and as president. The author defines Washington's presidency as a titanic battle between the Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and Republicans headed up by Thomas Jefferson. Since both men sat on the first president's cabinet--Hamilton as Treasurer and Jefferson as Secretary of State--the old general often had to bring both sides together. The Hamiltonians supported relations with Britain, heavily regulated banking, and centralized government. Jeffersonians supported France, agriculture, and localized government. Battles were fought between the two sides throughout the Washington administration, but the nation's hero often managed to steer a moderate course between the two positions. Flexner masterfully steers the reader through the complexities of the early American government as well, deftly explaining the differences of opinion that divided Jefferson and Hamilton and how the country responded to these mutually exclusive philosophical spheres. Without Washington's strident centrism, implies the author, our nation could very well have veered off course into extremism before the country matured. Flexner's book celebrates Washington but avoids turning into a panegyric. I felt surprised repeatedly that this treatment got me fired up about one of our nation's founders. My ancestors didn't even arrive here until the 1840s or 1850s, long after the founding fathers went to their graves, but perhaps that is part of America's magic. Newcomers willing to assimilate the ideals of this country soon feel they have a stake in its maintenance and identify with its foundation. Reading this book makes you feel a bit sad about the sorry state of affairs in the country today.

Flexner is gone; his monument to Washington remains.:
This year sadly saw the demise of this remarkable independent historian and biographer in his nineties after a long and accomplished life. His moving, sensitive and humane account of the life of George Washington remains as a monument to both subject and author. He makes Washington not only human, but lovable. Do yourself a favor and read the full four volume treatment: it is a classic. Ave atque vale, Mr. Flexner.

An Indispensable American History Lesson:
I normally can't read biographical books without falling into a coma. This book was quite an exception. Being a member of a local SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) chapter, I thought I should learn more about the Revolution and Washington than I did in school. I was truly amazed at how much INTERESTING information this short book had that I'd never known before. This book is very readable and provides a wealth of information about this amazing man and the early years of our nation. After reading this book, you'll appreciate how hard it was to maintain a democracy even after we won the war. I probably would have enjoyed American History at school if this book was taught rather than a snippet here or a date there. This book gives great background and tells enough of what was happening in American and Europe to understand the significance of Washington's decisions and actions. The only negative thing about this book is the author's clear bias when describing some of Washington's contemporaries. It is one thing to explain what some of them did (which could have destroyed America as we know it), but the name calling detracted from the feel of the narrative. Excellent work, Mr. Flexner!