Andrew M. Allison

An absolutely excellent read about America's most indispensible man. It is curious to me that as children and young adults we learned so little about our first president. Public education has woefully failed this man and one must wonder why? Washington as described was the quintessential leader involved in every facet of this nation's birth whose only real desire was to live freely in peace but who was pulled back time after time to do his nation's bidding. Once again, a great read devoid of show more post-modern speculation and analysis against 20th/21st century morals and mores. Very refreshing. show less

I am compelled to write a review of this book despite only having completed the first one-third of the volume. While it is a book fit for academia, it reads like a novel; a historical reference book composed to be as captivating as any cloak-and-dagger fiction.

The writing, recounting George Washington's life and the Revolutionary War, captivates with an equality only matching the saga itself. The author's goal of retelling history with the assistance of President Washington's own words, is show more masterfully executed. The amount of quotations per page is proportional to the number footnotes. Illustrations and maps from the time help complete the understanding of events.

Nearly 200 pages, at the conclusion of his story, make up "Timeless Treasures of George Washington". The 'Timeless Treasures' are excerpts of writings from Washington. For convenience, the entries are broken into subjects and alphabetically ordered for easy reference.

Originally reviewed July 5, 2010 show less

The real George Washington demonstrates just how difficult the Revolution was for its leading general. Washington was consistently underfunded and undermined by a recalcitrant Continental Congress. Yet, he persevered. Although criticisms may be leveled against his generalship it is fair to state he did an incredible job with using his limited resources against a vastly stronger foe. By avoiding pitched battles and biding his time, while granting the enemy vast amounts of territory, including show more major cities such as New York, he marshaled his resources effectively and in a timely fashion.

The second part of the book is an encyclopedic summary of his views on numerous topics. It is a sample of the numerous volumes written by Washington although it is ordinarily difficult to cull his prolific comments into a single source. Washington was reluctant to write either a war commentary, memoirs, or a autobiography due to his feeling that he was not up to the task. The listings though make available many of his comments some of which are well-known into a handy one-volume miscellany. show less

Everyone should read this book. It offers a concise description of the beginnings of our country, our constitution, and those who made it all happen, mostly through the eyes of George Washington. If you had trouble getting in to 1776 (like me) this could be the book for you. I believe it is an important book. We need to look back and remember our founding principles and what makes this country great.
By the way, a great book for kids 10 and up who like non-fiction.