Synopses & Reviews
Review
"The advertising for this book describes it as the 'definitive' biography of Washington. Douglas S. Freeman and his associates needed seven volumes to write their definitive biography (1948—1952), and since then we have had James T. Flexner's four-volume biography and several others. Ketchum does his definitive work in 280 pages, which include 240 illustrations. It is the kind of mandatory coffee-table book (large format, high price) that publishers feel obligated to prepare on the eve of the Bicentennial. On the good side, the illustrations are outstanding in the tradition of 'American Heritage,' sponsor of the book, and the text is adequate. But no one can tell the story of Washington's life in so limited a scope and present much that is new. The publishers say that the book rests entirely 'on facts that were known and substantiated while Washington was alive.' That curious statement cannot and should not be true—else what are historians for? Such information comes slowly to the surface as Washington's manuscripts, and those of his contemporaries, are found and given the study that generations of historians must bring to the task of presenting the 'definitive' Washington." Reviewed by Robert Jackson, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)