I finished reading His Excellency on Saturday morning. I am embarrassed to say that as a former student of American History and Political Science, there was a whole lot of history that I had either forgotten or never learned about General Washington and the timeline of the formation of our country.
Things like most of the founding father's had slaves and that at the time there were four times as many white slaves as black slaves. Many of the famous moments of the great revolution were actually pretty much abject failures and support for the cause was just as complicated then as it is now.
Also, as a public relations professional, I have a certain appreciation for the fact that Mr. Washington understood the need for good writers to portray him in the light which he wanted.
As far as the book itself, it was good, reminded me a little bit of a Crichton novel in that it keep breathlessly alluding to what was coming and then finally wrapped up in a neat little slightly disappointing package. Now on to John Adams which by all accounts will be the most compelling and well written of the books I plan to read. Having watched the entire John Adams mini-series in one long binge viewing a few years back I know a bit more about the inner workings of this President going in.
Things like most of the founding father's had slaves and that at the time there were four times as many white slaves as black slaves. Many of the famous moments of the great revolution were actually pretty much abject failures and support for the cause was just as complicated then as it is now.
Also, as a public relations professional, I have a certain appreciation for the fact that Mr. Washington understood the need for good writers to portray him in the light which he wanted.
As far as the book itself, it was good, reminded me a little bit of a Crichton novel in that it keep breathlessly alluding to what was coming and then finally wrapped up in a neat little slightly disappointing package. Now on to John Adams which by all accounts will be the most compelling and well written of the books I plan to read. Having watched the entire John Adams mini-series in one long binge viewing a few years back I know a bit more about the inner workings of this President going in.