Book Synopsis

George Washington: Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Leader is a revised edition of the author's George Washington, published in 1979. Totally updated to include the author's extensive research conducted in the intervening two decades, the book is a concise but complete biography of Washington as gentleman planter, colonial rebel, American general, and U.S. president. The book provides a full and even-handed portrait of the first president, with special emphasis on how he took his rather commonplace talents and transformed them with self-discipline into extraordinary leadership in a time of turmoil. The book pays special attention to Washington's struggles during the Revolution and his tenure as president and deals with his gradual conversion from advocate of nonpartisan politics to a strict Federalist. This book synthesizes the current research in a readable style that affords the general reader an understanding of Washington's special character and his vital role in the making of the United States.

Review Quotes

"This capsule biography is lively, to the point, and captures the essence of George Washington. . . . Here is a many-sided Washington: acquisitive, sensitive, stoic, patient, deliberate, decisive. But it is the personality that Jones uncovers that distinguishes this [concise] biography. Notes and the bibliography are critical and useful. Strongly recommended to libraries at all levels as the best short-yet comprehensive-biography of Washington available."-- "--Choice"

About the Author

Robert F. Jones is Professor of History at Fordham University.