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    General George Washington: A Military Life
    General George Washington: A Military Life
    General George Washington: A Military Life
    Audiobook20 hours

    General George Washington: A Military Life

    Written by Edward G. Lengel

    Narrated by Jack Garrett

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Much has been written in the past two centuries about George Washington the statesman and "father of his country." Less often discussed is Washington's military career, including his exploits as a young officer and his performance as the Revolutionary War commander in chief. Now, in a revealing work of historical biography, Edward Lengel has written the definitive account of George Washington the soldier. Based largely on Washington's personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of a man to whom lore and legend so tenaciously cling. To Lengel, Washington was the imperfect commander. Washington possessed no great tactical ingenuity, and his acknowledged "brilliance in retreat" only demonstrates the role luck plays in the fortunes of all great men. He was not an enlisted man's leader; he made a point of never mingling with his troops. He was not an especially creative military thinker; he fought largely by the book. He was not a professional, but a citizen soldier, who, at a time when warfare demanded that armies maneuver efficiently in precise formation, had little practical training handling men in combat. Yet despite his flaws, Washington was a remarkable figure, a true man of the moment, a leader who possessed a clear strategic, national, and continental vision, and who inspired complete loyalty from his fellow revolutionaries, officers, and enlisted men. America could never have won freedom without him. A trained surveyor, Washington mastered topography and used his superior knowledge of battlegrounds to maximum effect. He appreciated the importance of good allies in times of crisis, and understood well the benefits of coordination of ground and naval forces. Like the American nation itself, he was a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts-a remarkable everyman whose acts determined the course of history. Lengel argues that Washington's excellence was in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the war for American independence, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 10, 2005
    ISBN9781440797248
    General George Washington: A Military Life
    Author

    Edward G. Lengel

    EDWARD G. LENGEL is senior director of programs at the National World War II Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, where he was a full professor and directed the Washington Papers Project for many years. He wrote the new history of Colonial Williamsburg as a “Revolutionary in Residence.” Lengel has written fourteen books on American history, including General George Washington: A Military Life, and Never in Finer Company: The Men of the Great War’s Lost Battalion. Lengel is a co-recipient of the National Humanities Medal and has won two writing awards from the Army Historical Foundation.

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    4/5

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    • 4/5
      This was an interesting narrative about George Washington and the quality of his generalship from his days fighting in the French and Indian War until he said farewell to his command at the conclusion of the War of Independence. Lengel covers all the main important aspects of the war, and reasonably critiques Washington's performance in the important battles and campaigns. I don't think there are many big surprises in the book. The discussion of Washington as tactically aggressive, sometimes to the point of rashness, while being strategically cautious, was useful and interesting. My one criticism is that a deeper analysis at the end of the book would be stronger than the analysis that seems to be parceled out at the end of chapters.
    • 5/5
      A great narrative about the military role George Washington played throughout his life. I suppose one might be able to interpret a number of different styles of leadership from the evidence of his multiple commands. However, at the end of the day, his perseverance through admittedly diffucult days during the Revolutionary War, saw the colonist through to victory (albeit with a little help from the French!)A great story, which also tackles Washington's early years working with the British against the French. A good primer overall on Washington's military exploits.