I recalled this book, which I read in 2005, while reading Alexis Coe's You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. I've always liked Ellis's work, especially Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation and thought this one was worth a re-read.

I wanted a short biography of Washington, and this delivered. It gave me a good picture of his life and character (especially his reserve and self-control) and solidified my view that he was the only person who could have unified the colonies and made possible our country’s long-term progress. He did great things, but they were also very much in his own self-interest, so I didn’t come away fawning over him or even calling him our greatest president (Lincoln still wins that contest in my mind). Perhaps if Ellis had sung his praises a little more with concrete examples and others’ opinions. Washington comes across as flawed, but also absolutely what was needed at the time. The passages about slavery were eye-opening, and it was interesting to see Washington’s views on slavery shift. He certainly wasn’t blameless, and perhaps much of the heartache that followed our country’s founding could have been avoided if Washington had stepped up to fight against slavery during his lifetime. But perhaps that’s asking too much and playing revisionist history. I was impressed with the way Washington, imperfect as he was, seemed to be protected and guided by a divine hand. I’m glad I learned more about him, and glad this book was the right length and level of detail to be satisfying to me.

I wish that more biographies were 270 pages. I find that nonfiction is a commitment for me - I read and absorb it much more slowly. Most biographies of people that I'm marginally interested in, then, become totally unrealistic reads. His Excellency: George Washington creates a compelling portrait of one of the most idealized heroes of American history, and it does so while remaining readable. This is a great introduction to Washington scholarship, and an even better portrait of a complex man.

Ellis covers the entirety of Washington's life, sketching out the young soldier, the revolutionary general, and the president. Washington seemed to lead a charmed life; by rights, he should have died early, in the crushing battles at Monongahela during the French and Indian War. But no matter how many battlefields he rode across or how many political tensions threatened to crush the American experiment, Washington persevered - on the correct side of history. He's described a few times as "prescient," and he even semi-accurately predicts the War of 1812. Washington's life and 17th-century American politics are almost interchangeable here, and Ellis does a great job of narrating how Washington was shaped by his extraordinary experiences.

My favorite section of this book was Washington's presidency. Reading about the origins of the two-party system was especially appropriate this weekend, and it was also interesting to watch two future presidents scheme against their own cabinet (Jefferson: the original SNAKE IN THE GRASS). The personalities of this period are no less fascinating in passing, and it's crazy to understand how much power Washington wielded in early America. As Jefferson notes to Madison, "Washington on horseback trumped anything the [opposition] could muster." If he hadn't been so concerned with his mark on history, Washington could have easily been the first benevolent ruler of a much different society.

My first hero