Washington
by Ron Chernow · first published 2010
56% recommend33% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Detailed, clear, and easy-to-follow overview of George Washington's whole life, praised for making a long biography accessible; suits readers wanting a thorough single-volume introduction to the man.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In this work, the author, a biographer provides a portrait of the father of our nation, dashing forever the stereotype of a stolid, unemotional man, and revealing an astute and surprising portrait of a canny political genius who knew how to inspire people.
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Top 2 so far: * Washington: A life by Ron Chernow * The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won by Victor Davis Hanson The Washington book is a very detailed by clear overview of his life. Easy to…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗…unwillingness to take the actions that would have preserved it - pretty much any individual uprising could have been crushed if they'd decided to (including the American Revolution - see Ron Chernow's "Washington - A Life" for just how easy it would been for the British to end the whole thing at Boston, New York, or Valley Forge at various times).
on “Is There Anything Good About Men?” ↗> Washington: A life, by Ron Chernow Most programs in America, most paintings and all that is apocryphal about Washington always paints him as a humorless, rigid, God-like character. Chernow does a wonderful job…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗John Lee is one of my favorite narrators and his reading of the Count of Monte Cristo is wonderful (even at 47 hours). Ron Chernow’s biographies of Grant, Hamilton, and Washington. Candice Millard‘s “Hero’s of the Empire” (about Winston Churchill) and “River of Doubt” (Theodore Roosevelt) are both interesting looks at important historical figures in situations we don’t often prescribe…
on “Ask HN: What are the best audiobooks you have ever listened to?” ↗…Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and LBJ. I cannot recommend it highly enough! (Here's my more detailed write-up: https://terranostra.one/posts/Review-Lessons-from-the-Presid...) Then went on to Ron Chernow's "Washington" (another great book), and am currently on Jean Edward Smith's "FDR". If you're interested in presidential biographies, have a look at this guy's page: https://bestpresidentialbios.com/
on “Underrated predictor of success: willingness to be low-status” ↗…several books‘ worth of pages on it: https://acoup.blog/ Also, it pointed me to a number of the „real“ books I read this year. Aside from that, the book that I enjoyed the most was probably Chernow‘s „Washington“.
on “Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?” ↗…stockpile books for the possibly long Covid-19 slog. I just finished reading Ron Chernow's US Grant Bio, I can recommend it as long, engaging, and very poignant (esp for Americans). I'm going to read his Washington bio next, should take me a good month :) What are you reading during this potentially long period of isolation at home?
on “Ask HN: What books are you reading during self isolation?” ↗Ron Chernow is perhaps too reverential of Washington. Gore Vidal for example had a much more critical view of Washington. Some claim that the War of Independence streched out for many many years only because of Washington's incompetence.
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗…in a year - not without making serious life changes. But I can read 20 or 30 really big, impactful books (examples from this year: Godel, Escher, Bach; A Secular Age; Anna Karenina; Chernow's life of Washington) and 70 other books that may not be as impressive, but provide significant value for a shorter investment of time. I'd put books like Cal Newport's "Deep Work" in this category. It's not an either/or…
on “How to read 100 books a year (and still have a life)” ↗This last summer I read through the two Chernow bios for Washington and Hamilton. I came away from them with a renewed respect for their leadership through a difficult war and the daunting challenge of errecting a new government built on a system of checks and balances…