Publisher's Synopsis
We remember George Washington as an austere figure standing in a rowboat crossing the icy Delaware River. We forget that he was ever a reluctant leader. It is even harder to imagine him wallowing in sentiment or advising teenagers on love and marriage. Despite his legendary stature, Washington did display raw emotion, seldom in public but often in the privacy of his diary. Paul M. Zall uses Washington's own words to restore him as an uncommon man subject to common human weakness. From an early age, Washington was determined to earn the respect of both peers and followers. No orator, he sought to secure his place in history through meticulously kept records. His words reveal how he forged his character on the frontier of his youth, tested it in the Revolution, and cemented it in the nation's founding. Combining Washington's personal diaries, journals, letters, and other sources, Washington on Washington offers a fresh perspective on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history.
