About the author
Formerly a lawyer, David O. Stewart became a bestselling writer of history and historical fiction. The Wall Street Journal called his George Washington “an outstanding biography,” with “clear, often superlative” writing and “a narrative drive such a life deserves.” Other histories have explored the Constitutional Convention, James Madison, Aaron Burr’s treason, and Andrew Johnson’s impeachment. After three historical mysteries, David’s Overstreet Saga begins in November with The New Land, which follows settlers on Maine’s bloody coast in the 1750s.
MFOB featured book: George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father
Washington’s rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his mid-twenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his mid-forties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-fifties, he was unanimously elected the nation’s first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America?
In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician—and America’s most essential leader. From Virginia’s House of Burgesses, where Washington learned the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court, to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation.
