Eva Reads About George Washington

Some time ago (I don’t want to think about how long ago, exactly) a friend of mine mentioned a very ambitious but intriguing idea she had: what if she read a biography about each United States president?

My curiosity was instantly piqued, for the simple reason that I love history AND I know appallingly little about most of the presidents, even the more famous ones.

I’ve only just begun to embark on this massive undertaking, so this post will be a curation of all George Washington-related books I have ever read, with brief remarks thereon, subject to update as I read more.

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Blooding at Great Meadows: Young George Washington and the Battle That Shaped the Man Alan Axelrod

This was an in-depth look at Washington’s early life (inasmuch as can be discovered about it) and his first military campaign, which I’d known basically nothing about. Parts of the book were a little tedious, but I’m glad I listened.

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George Washington Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire

I’ve read this to my children many times. I love the artwork, and although the text is a little on the simplistic/hero-worshippy side, it’s not too terrible of an overview of the life of Washington. Some of what is presented as fact about his childhood/youth is up for debate, according to some of the other books on this list. The fact is, we really just don’t know much about those years.

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George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger

Spy stories are always fun, and I found it really interesting to learn how spying worked and how ignominious spies were considered in those days. I did not care much for the audiobook reader; he was a bit overzealous in his presentation. But the content was great.

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George Washington’s World Genevieve Foster

Okay, so I haven’t read this one since I was 13 or 14 and my mom and I read it for school, but I do have a copy in anticipation of reading it with my own kids in a few years. I love the illustrations AND I love that it takes you to all kinds of places and weaves together what else was happening in the world during the span of Washington’s life. I really enjoyed reading it as a teen.

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In the Hurricane’s Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown Nathaniel Philbrick

Philbrick’s writing is great, and the audio is read by Scott Brick, who is a favourite reader of mine. I zoned out some of the time, because technicalities of battle are a little much for me at times, but I enjoyed how this book tied together so much about the Revolutionary War in general as well as Washington’s role in it.

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Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution Nathaniel Philbrick

As with In the Hurricane’s Eye, this was good but a trifle tedious at times for me. But it was great to finally learn what exactly it was that Benedict Arnold DID, which has always been a little fuzzy for me.

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Washington: A Life Ron Chernow

Also read by Scott Brick (yay!) this was just under 42 hours long and, I believe, the longest audiobook I’ve ever listened to. It was intense, but honestly, I loved every minute of it. Particularly (since the Revolution and his early life was already covered in several of the above books in this post) I enjoyed the last third or so that talked about his terms as President, of which I knew literally nothing before. Highly recommend.

And, whether it was intentional or not, I find it very satisfying that Chernow divided this book into 67 chapters, since Washington lived 67 years.