Washington: The Indispensable Man

This "perceptive" and "satisfying" biography of George Washington by an award-winning historian "deserves a place on every American's bookshelf" (The New York Times Book Review). James Thomas Flexner's masterful four-volume biography of America's first president, which received a special Pulitzer Prize citation and a National Book Award for its concluding installment, is the definitive chronicle of Washington's life and a classic work of American history. In this single-volume edition, Flexner brilliantly distills his sweeping study to offer readers "the most convincing evocation of the man and his deeds written within the compass of one book" (Los Angeles Times). In graceful and dramatic prose, Flexner peels back the myths surrounding Washington to reveal the true complexity of his character. The only founding father from Virginia to free all his slaves, Washington was a faithful husband who harbored deep romantic feelings for his best friend's wife. An amateur soldier, he prepared for his role as commander in chief of the Continental army by sending out to Philadelphia bookshops for treatises on military strategy. As president, he set many democratic precedents--including the two-term limit and the appointment of an advisory cabinet--yet routinely excluded his vice president, John Adams, from important decisions. The George Washington that emerges in these pages is a shrewd statesman, a wise commander, a brave patriot, and above all, "an ordinary man pushed to greatness by the extraordinary times in which he lived" (The Christian Science Monitor). In tracing Washington's evolution from privileged son of the landed gentry to "the indispensable man" without whom the United States as we know it would not exist, Flexner presents a hero worthy of admiration not only for his remarkable strengths, but also for his all-too-human weaknesses.

About the Author :
James Thomas Flexner (1908-2003) was a prizewinning historian and the author of twenty-six books. Born and raised in New York City, he graduated from Harvard University with honors. He began his career as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune and published his first book, Doctors on Horseback: Pioneers of American Medicine, in 1937. Best known for his four-volume biography of George Washington, Flexner won a special Pulitzer Prize citation for the series and a National Book Award for its final installment, Anguish and Farewell (1972). His single-volume distillation, Washington: The Indispensable Man (1974), has been heralded as "the most convincing evocation of the man and his deeds written within the compass of one book" (Los Angeles Times). Flexner's other books include America's Old Masters: First Artists of the New World (1939), The Traitor and the Spy: Benedict Arnold and John André (1953), Mohawk Baronet: Sir William Johnson of New York (1959), The Young Hamilton: A Biography (1978), and An America Saga: The Story of Helen Thomas and Simon Flexner (1984).

Review :
"The most convincing evocation of the man and his deeds written within the compass of one book." --Los Angeles Times "Doubtless the best single-volume biography available . . . No one who starts it will be able to lay it aside." --Commonweal "A perceptive account of an extraordinary man who, for all his monumental image, was yet a human being . . . The most satisfying biography of Washington between two covers . . . deserves a place on every American's bookshelf." --The New York Times Book Review "Spirited . . . Sweeping . . . The most readable of biographies." --The Boston Globe "Flexner was both a fine writer and a solid researcher. He brilliantly portrays Washington as an ordinary man pushed to greatness by the extraordinary times in which he lived." --TheChristian Science Monitor Praise for James Thomas Flexner "A prolific and graceful writer . . . His greatest impact was in demystifying Washington, revealing his weaknesses as well as his strengths . . . to make the first president even more appealing." --The New York Times "From Flexner's pages emerged a strictly human hero much more understandable by modern Americans than the dour founding father of the Gilbert Stuart portrait." --The Washington Post