First and Always, Peter Henriques
First and Always, Peter Henriques
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First and Always
A New Portrait of George Washington

Author: Peter Henriques

Narrator: Henry Strozier

Unabridged: 8 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/15/2020


Synopsis

George Washington may be the most famous American who ever lived, and certainly is one of the most admired. But
although he has been heavily mythologized, it is no myth that the man who led Americans’ fight for independence and
whose two terms in office largely defined the presidency was the most highly respected individual among a generation
of formidable personalities. In First and Always, celebrated historian Peter Henriques illuminates Washington’s life,
more fully explicating his character and his achievements.
Arranged thematically, the book’s chapters focus on important and controversial issues, achieving a depth not
possible in a traditional biography. First and Always examines factors that coalesced to make Washington such a
remarkable and admirable leader, while also chronicling how Washington mistreated enslaved workers, engaged in
extreme partisanship, and responded with excessive sensitivity to criticism. Henriques portrays a Washington deeply
ambitious and always hungry for public adoration, even as he disclaimed such desires. In its account of an amazing life,
First and Always shows how, despite profound flaws, George Washington nevertheless deserves to rank as the nation’s
most consequential leader, without whom the American experiment in republican government would have died
in infancy

Reviews

Goodreads review by William

The Last Word on Washington? A renowned George Washington scholar who had already authored several books on George Washington and thought he was done writing books about him, Professor Emeritus Peter Henriques changed his mind and has come out with what may be his, if not “The,” Last Word on Washingt......more

Goodreads review by Jeremy

We, and I, tend to think of George Washington as the stoic figure, something akin to a well-dressed statue, a man fitted to his time, but who adorned the first bookend of American history as a reluctant servant of the people, preferring, of course, to be at home on the farm over the roles that he wa......more

This isn't a biography as much as a collection of essays on different aspects of Washington's life and personality, tied together with some well-done transitions. I found the first couple chapters rather unnecessary and tedious, as it was things that I had either previously known, or found too specu......more