Somewhere between chopping down the cherry tree and crossing the Delaware River-a triumph of the will that changed the course of the American Revolution-George Washington had the epiphany that turned him into one of the world’s greatest tacticians and leaders. Alan Axelrod presents a riveting argument that it happened at Great Meadows, a remote western Pennsylvania battlefield where the inexperienced 22-year-old lieutenant colonel from Virginia met a highly skilled French army and suffered a terrible defeat. When it was over, a third of his men lay fallen. Washington walked away, but in a sense left much of himself dead on the field as well, to be reborn as the great man we know as our founding president. His ability to use the experience of defeat to achieve eventual greatness is an inspirational tale that’s retold daily in the stories of the leaders of our own time. Blooding at Great Meadows features not only an exciting and thought-provoking narrative, but examines the significance of Washington’s actual dispatches, along with recent archeological findings from Great Meadows. This was essentially the battle that started the French and Indian Wars. Was it also the battle that “fathered” the father of our country? Fans of Washington and American history will surely want to find out.