The reader comes away not necessarily convinced of Washington's likeability (he actually comes across as rather stiff and overly driven by appearances), but entirely convinced that he was the perfect leader for the fledgling Continental Army, and then, of course, the nation. Again, while it's not an easy read, it is an immensely enjoyable and interesting one. Simply put, Washington: A Life is a masterpiece of biography. I tried again a few weeks later, and finally realized the book's brilliance, blasting through at over 100 pages per day. I just couldn't get into it for some reason. Even this time around, I made it about 50 pages in and took a break. I recently decided, though, to read a biography of each president in order (I've read a few here and there, but thought it'd be good to start fresh at #1), so I picked it up again and started anew.

I actually started reading this book in college, and got a few hundred pages in before giving up. These are textbook-like tomes in their meatiness, and make for reading that while rather enjoyable, is not necessarily easy. Not only are they long, but the type is small too. This of course leads to enormously high expectations as a reader.Ī note about Chernow before getting into reviewing the book: he has a penchant for writing huge biographies that all span 800+ pages. At the popular, it's the only bio (spanning every president) to receive a perfect 5-star rating. This is a book that's often called not only the best biography of George Washington, but perhaps one of the best biographies ever written. And while all his books have received excellent reviews and numerous awards, the only one to receive perhaps the most prestigious - the elusive Pulitzer - is 2010's Washington: A Life. With the wild of success of Hamilton the play, Ron Chernow is currently best known for his biography of Alexander Hamilton, which the play is based off of.

Ron chernow biographies