His Excellency : George Washington /
Drawing from the newly catalogued Washington papers at the University of Virginia, the author paints a full portrait of Washington's life and career in the context of eighteenth-century America, richly detailing his private life and illustrating the ways in which it influenced his public person...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Alfred A. Knopf,
2004
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Subjects: | |
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| Summary: | Drawing from the newly catalogued Washington papers at the University of Virginia, the author paints a full portrait of Washington's life and career in the context of eighteenth-century America, richly detailing his private life and illustrating the ways in which it influenced his public persona. When Washington died in 1799, Ellis tells us, he was eulogized as "first in the hearts of his countrymen." Since then, however, his image has been chiseled onto Mount Rushmore and printed on the dollar bill. He is on our landscape and in our wallets but not, Ellis argues, in our hearts. Ellis strips away the ivy and legend that have grown up over the Washington statue and recovers the flesh-and-blood man in all his passionate and fully human prowess. In the pantheon of our republic's founders, there were many outstanding individuals. And yet each of them, Franklin, Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, acknowledged Washington to be his superior, the only indispensable figure, the one and only: "His Excellency." Both physically and politically, Washington towered over his peers for reasons this book elucidates. His Excellency is a full, glorious, and multifaceted portrait of the man behind our country's genesis. |
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| Physical Description: | xiv, 320 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-312) and index. |
| ISBN: | 1400040310 9781400040315 0739451537 9780739451533 |