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Customer Reviews (8)

Excellent Read
Now I want to say at the offset that although my review may become critical and doubtful of the brilliance of Washington as he is portrayed in this book, I am not looking for reasons to put the man down through nitpicking, but I felt that this was a very awestruck account of Washington and was a little biased as a result. This is really an excellent biography of a man whose name transcends the time and nation in which he helped to create and even now, when you mention the name, George Washington, to even the most simple of non-Americans 99% of them will tell you he was the first president of the United States of America. That's the image everyone has of him; but very few, including myself until I read this, are familiar with his military history and prowess in the times of the revolutionary war.

I'm not going to recite the history of Washington in brief terms as you can all find the stuff out you need to know by simply having a browse of Wikipedia, or better yet, buying this book. Washington Irving is a man who, as a young child, met George Washington and received a pat on the head from the great Commander-In-Chief. This definitely seems to have had an effect on the author as in his mind, the president can do no wrong and through recounting the man's history, he appears to be without flaw. As we know, however, George Washington was human and as a human he has his flaws like we all do. Irving seems to have missed any mention of a flaw of the great man and that made this feel more like biographical story book, rather than a full fledged biography which was disappointing.

The story of the great mans exploits are really something to enjoy when you sit down and get into it. The tales of the revolutionary war are very heavy in detail and, as another reviewer said, a lack of maps or diagrams made it a tad hard to follow when it came to descriptions of particular destinations and so on. The descriptions of landmark battles and so on are really well put together and create an exciting atmosphere around the story the author is trying to put across. Because of the time it was written, there is also a lot of archaic language within the book which for some may be a bit hard going, but you will get used to it and become enthralled by the story you witnessing and picturing in your own imagination.

There is no doubt that George Washington was a great man. After all, he led the United States to independence from Britain and became the first president of the independent United States of America. But, I still feel a bit disappointed by the bias displayed in this book and felt the man could have been better served had there been a more two sided analysis of his behaviour, rather than the obvious awe-struck discussion in this book. However, that's not to take away the fact that it is a superb read and if you have an interest in the revolutionary war, then this is certainly a book you want to pick up at one time or another.

fabulous book
My sister, husband and I are reading about the history of our country from the founding on through to modern day. This book has been a part of a reading. It was a fabulous book with great detail. All you people that think they might enjoy a step back in time would really appreciate this journey.

George Washington:A Biography
This was an excellent book.However be warned!It was written in the 1800s, and it is in the old English language style.You will need to keep a dictionary on hand, because you will be looking up a lot of words.I found it difficult to read because of the language style, but I stuck with it. The author of this book actually met George Washington once.

I have read a lot about the Revolutionary War and George Washington.This book contained information that I had not found in any other book.

American History
For Christmas, I sent my son(who lives in Europe) American history books, among others, because our young kids are forgetting what our ancestors endured to creat this great nation. They didn't risked their lives and treasure for us to become Socialism. They would turn in their graves if they could see what is happening to our "soon not to be" a great country.

Powerful & sagacious review of the first Commander in Chief
Washington Irving's biography on Washington is by far the most detailed review on our first President from youth through his post Presidential years.Given that Mr. Irving personally met George Washington at the young age of 7, Irving's book has all the more relavence than today's revisionist historians can ever provide.However, the "old english" that Washington used in his correspondence makes for difficult comprehension.It is interesting to note that by 1850 the change to a more modern writing style by Irving presents a clearer picture of Washington's time, but it still requires an occasional re-read to fully understand Irving's point.A person with a limited interest in the Revolutionary War may be better suited to purchasing a more contemporary biography for ease of reading.

However, this book does provide such insite into the minds of Washington and those around him and it allows the reader to finally start to understand why our Founding Fathers risked all for the sake of freedom and liberty from the English.Today we take for granted rights that never existed anywhere in the 1770's and such historical works penned in the mid 1850's provides an insite that should be required reading for both liberals and conservatives.Overall, the book is long and difficult to read, but well worth the time, effort and cost. ... Read more

Product Description
George Washington served as the first President of the United States of America, and led the Continental Army to victory over the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War

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Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
George S. Hellman's, Washington Irving Esquire: Ambassador at Large from the New World to the Old presents a fresh look on the life of this American born author and diplomat who lived from 1783-1859. A large group of Irving's journals, notebooks, unpublished letters in the Library of Congress and the State Department at Washington, personal books and papers were used as sources for this biography.

In his early career, Irving wrote a series of humorous and satirical essays. Under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, he published A History of New York (1809), a satire that has been called the first great book of comic literature written by an American.

The stories (including "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"), collected in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (London, 1820), appeared serially in New York in 1819n20; their enthusiastic reception made Irving the best known figure in American literature both at home and abroad. Irving is also known for his biography of Columbus (1828), The Conquest of Granada (1829), and The Alhambra (1832).

Irving was master of a graceful and unobtrusively sophisticated prose style. A gentle but effective satirist, he was the creator of a few widely loved essays and tales that have made his name endure. Illustrated with old engravings; facsimiles of Irving's letters and manuscripts; and sketches by Irving himself. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
Unique in his contribution to American letters, George Santayana (1863-1952) combined literary and philosophical talents to produce a wide range of writings, among them important works of philosophy, a best-selling novel, volumes of poetry, and many studies in literary criticism. This book introduces the main currents of Santayana's thought, connecting his biography to his intellectual development and tracing the recurrent theme of alienation in his life and works. ... Read more

Product Description
A critical introduction to the writings of Irving Babbit, the New Humanist scholar and teacher of T.S. Eliot. "Panichas places Babbit where he belongs: at the core tradition in literary analysis--and does so without resorting to bile, guile, or clever ripostes at the expense of a giant".--Irving Louis Horowitz, author, "Foundations of Political Sociology". ... Read more