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His Excellency: George Washington | 
| Author: Joseph J. Ellis
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $4.96
You Save: $10.04 (67%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 3906
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 1400032539
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.41092
EAN: 9781400032532
ASIN: 1400032539
Publication Date: November 8, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: , , Used - Very Good. Sound Copy. Mild Reading Wear.
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Product Description
To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the Revolutionary era. Training his lens on a figure who sometimes seems as remote as his effigy on Mount Rushmore, Ellis assesses George Washington as a military and political leader and a man whose “statue-like solidity” concealed volcanic energies and emotions.
Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to English merchants instilled him with a prickly resentment of imperial power. We see the general who lost more battles than he won and the reluctant president who tried to float above the partisan feuding of his cabinet. His Excellency is a magnificent work, indispensable to an understanding not only of its subject but also of the nation he brought into being.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Character Assassination June 28, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is sad. The author has made big bucks on a book that essentially is aimed at bringing George Washington down to the level of today's politicians. There certainly is an audience for this kind of interpretation of our Founding Father and it can only be accomplished by someone who has a perspective and wants to use his skills to slant the reader's view toward his own negativity. I much preferred to read David McCullough's history, "1776," which dwells primarily on Washington as a person and a leader, but without the hidden agenda (whatever it is) of the author of "His Excellency," which is really an attempt to rewrite history and bring Washington down to the level of a Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon in a colonial setting. Shame on you, Mr. Ellis, although you are entitled to your opinion -- which is what this book is all about.
Deliberately misleading June 27, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was extremely disappointed in this book. This book was purchased as a gift for me, and I looked forward to reading it. From the beginning, I was disappointed by the tone of the book, which casts a negative tone on the father of our country.
As I researched some of Ellis' sources, I found that in several parts of his book, he stated items as facts that were completely false.
Ellis, following a popular trend of today, insinuates that George Washington was in love with his friend's wife, Sally Fairfax, and that he felt passionately in love with her throughout his life.
Ellis admits that all we do know is based primarily on three letters Washington wrote to Sally (Fairfax). The last letter he cites was one Washington wrote near the end of his life. Mr. Ellis states that "in this letter, he confessed to an elderly Sally that she had been the passion of his youth, that he had never been able to forget her, 'nor been able to eradicate from my mind those happy moments, the happiest in my life, which have enjoyed in your company."
I decided to research his references, and look up the text of Washington's letter on the Library of Congress website. They have actual images of all of the original letters of George Washington. What I found relieved me greatly and set my mind at ease. It also made me feel disgusted than an author who claims to accurately represent the life of such a noble man could be so purposely deceptive.
The actual letter was written by Washington in his later years, with his wife. He talked about how he was remembering the times of harmony and friendship that he and his wife spent with Sally and her husband at their home. He describes these times as some of the happiest of his life. At the end of his part of the letter he says "Mrs. Washington is about to give you an account of the changes which have happened in the neighbourhood and in our own family."
Mr. Ellis said that in this letter he confessed that she had been the passion of his youth. That is simply a blatant falsehood.
Ellis also states that there is no evidence to show whether the relationship between Washington and Fairfax ever crossed the sexual threshold or not. Why does he even feel the need to include such a ridiculous statement? It is akin to saying that although someone spends some time at the local bank, we don't have evidence to show whether they were a bank robber or not.
Attempting to insinuate that the framers of our Constitution such as Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were immoral men, is happening more and more often in our country.
In an excellent book "The Rewriting of America's History", there is an example of how deceitful this influence can be. The book explained how in an earlier edition of a school history textbook it stated that George Washington had a hot temper that he kept masterfully controlled. In a later edition of the same textbook, it simply said: "George Washington had a hot temper." I think that is a powerful example of how a subtle adjustment can completely change our thinking of his character.
I have found that this is happening more and more frequently in our world today as I have studied the founding father's lives including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others.
I could continue on with how careful research contradicts the opinions of Mr. Ellis, but I will simply recommend a much better book. "The Real George Washington", published by The National Center for Constitutional Studies.
 An excellent look at the life of America's father. May 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found this book to be a refreshing look at the life of America's greatest founding father. Ellis does a fantastic job of getting to the meat of a seemingly endless list of resources including numerous pieces of personal correspondence, and provides a more personal look into the mind of the notoriously elusive George Washington. This work does what many other similar books don't, and that is look at Washington in the context of the broader social and historical realities of his time. Without this, many of Washington's actions seem illogical or empty. Some reviewers don't appreciate the more critical aspects of the work, but it is naive to believe that Washington was totally devoid of personal flaws and internal conflicts. In fact, I believe, as Ellis describes, that these flaws are part of what made him a great leader; what he learned from his mistakes helped guide him on his journey through a very uncertain and volatile time in world history. What is more impressive, is that Ellis is able to condense such a rich and interesting life into a relatively short volume that doesn't seem lacking. It provides enough insight for those who are looking for the basics, but gives enough for those looking for more in-depth analysis and provides a foundation for more intense study. Overall, Ellis has created a fantastic biography that I would recommend to anyone interested in early American history.
Great book on Washington. May 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just finished this book and truly enjoyed it. I love history and especially this era. A great overview of Washington's life without being overly tedious in the details as some biographies can be. I finished this book fairly quickly as I was hooked once I began. Loved the photos that were included also.
George Washington the Man, Not the Myth May 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Too much of what is "known" about George Washington is based on myth rather than fact. This book strips away the glossy veneer and paints a portrait of a remarkable man who, despite his flaws, influenced the path that our early nation took more than any other person. Despite its relative brevity, this well written biography provides much insight into Washington. We learn how his business and personal dealings led to his disaffection with England and his support for the revolutionary cause. We see the evolution of his views on slavery. We understand how indispensable he was in establishing a strong and "energetic" (to borrow his words) federal government. I came way from this book with a much better appreciation for the "father of our country" and a clearer understanding of his contributions to the formation of our nation.
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