by Alexis Coe
First published 2020
George Washington emerges here not as marble statue but as flesh and blood human. Alexis Coe examines the first president through fresh eyes, revealing a young man raised by a single mother who aggressively sought military advancement and pursued wealthy women. Washington sparked international conflict early in his career and suffered from dysentery so severe he needed a saddle cushion. Marriage to Martha transformed him into a homebody who named his dog Sweetlips. He reluctantly took up arms against Britain, losing more battles than he won, but excelled at espionage and propaganda. After shocking the world by relinquishing power, he found himself pressured into the presidency twice. Washington established lasting precedents but left office devastated by the partisan warfare his cabinet created. Returning to his plantation, he finally grappled with the moral contradiction of owning hundreds of enslaved people while championing liberty. Coe combines meticulous research with unsentimental narrative, separating historical fact from national mythology to present Washington as he actually was.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, non-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, intimate
Setting: United States
Period: 18th Century
261 pages · Hardcover · Viking
Content warnings: slavery